The South Americans warm up for the World Cup in Dublin...

Planning for 2012

Giovanni Trapattoni and his Ireland squad have been together since the end of the English league season and have played two behind the scenes friendlies against representative sides in Dublin. Ahead of the Paraguay game, in which he will play a number of his first choice XI, he reaffirmed the seriousness of this end-of-season get together.

The Italian is now firmly focused on the Euro 2012 qualification campaign and he is pleased with what he has seen so far. He told the press yesterday: "I have said for the last two years, when you wear this shirt, there is no such thing as a friendly game because it's our pride and the mentality of our country that is important.

"We have to build our mentality. I am not arrogant, but we are sure we have a strong team."
"I spoke with Marco [Tardelli] and we were saying this group is a great group - they showed us that against Brazil, against Italy and against France.

"They played better than, or at the same level as, those teams.

"I know the group will be difficult and we will need all our players to be fit, but I have seen many games and I think we can qualify because this group is strong."

Trap experimented with his team in the run-outs against an Irish under-23 home-based side and an Ireland Junior XI, giving starts to the likes of Greg Cunningham, Cillian Sheridan, Darren O'Dea, Anthony Stokes and Shane Duffy.

The Everton defender Duffy had to be taken to hospital for emergency surgery following a clash with an opposition goalkeeper last Friday but is expected to make a swift and full recovery.

The Irish play another friendly against Algeria on Friday.

Fine tuning needed

Paraguay face Italy in their opening World Cup match on June 14 and come into the Ireland game on the back of some poor results in recent internationals as well as a robbery at their French training base.

The coach, Gerardo Martino, watched his side labour to a 1-0 win over North Korea 10 days ago but the line-up at the RDS is unlikely to bear much of a resemblance to that which faced down the Asians.

For a start, Lucas Barrios, the Argentina-born forward, will make his international debut. A stunning season in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund precipitated his inclusion in a World Cup squad that needs an increase in firepower. The Paraguayans have only scored twice in their last five internationals.

However, the Albiroja performed very well in the CONMEBOL qualification campaign. In qualifying for the World Cup finals they defeated both Argentina and Brazil, as well as Chile and Uruguay, South America's other representatives at the finals on their way to a third place finish.

The side has continually improved under the stewardship of Martino since he took over in 2007. The Argentine has successfully managed to wed a natural Paraguayan propensity to defend with his own attacking verve.

Nonetheless, the manager admits that progress needs to be made before the tournament. He was displeased with his team's application against North Korea and will be expecting more tonight.

Paraguay face Cote d'Ivoire and Greece before the finals and name their final squad on June 1.

Form Guide

Ireland

2 March: Ireland 0-2 Brazil (Friendly)

18 November: France 1-1 Ireland - AET (WCQ Play-Off)

14 November: Ireland 0-1 France (WCQ Play-Off)

14 October: Ireland 0-0 Montenegro (WCQ)

10 October: Ireland 2-2 Italy (WCQ)

Paraguay

15 May: Paraguay 1-0 North Korea (Friendly)

31 March: Paraguay 1-1 South Africa (Friendy)

18 November: Netherlands 0-0 Paraguay (Friendly)

13 November: Paraguay 0-2 Qatar (Friendly)

15 October: Paraguay 0-2 Colombia (WCQ)

Team News

Ireland

Giovanni Trapattoni has taken the opportunity to blood new players in recent behind-closed-doors friendlies but will mostly revert to the old guard tonight. Keiren Westwood will start in goal while Paul McShane will fill in at centre-back. Meanwhile, there is a welcome return for John O'Shea, injured since the play-off in November.

Line-Up: Westwood; Kelly, McShane, St Ledger, O'Shea; Lawrence, Andrews, Whelan, Duff; Doyle, Keane

Paraguay

Lucas Barrios is in line for his debut while Gerardo Martino has a clutch of injury problems to contend with. Oscar Cardozo, Nelson Haedo Valdez (thigh) and Edgar Benitez (ankle) head the list of absentees. Also left behind in France are Diego Baretto, Edgar Baretto and Julio Manzur.

Probable Line-Up: Bobadilla; Da Silva, Caniza, Alcaraz, Vera, Rodriguez; Santana, Riveros; Gamarra, Barrios, Santa Cruz

Players To Watch

Ireland

For the Boys in Green, much is already known about those in the starting line-up. Therefore, it may be interesting to see how some of Trap's new boys fare as substitutes. The Italian has been impressed with Birmingham City midfielder Keith Fahey in training and he could feature at some stage.

Paraguay

Lucas Barrios garnered all the headlines for Borussia Dortmund all season in the Bundesliga; so much so that there were calls for Diego Maradona to include him in the Argentina World Cup squad. However, the former Colo Colo striker has opted for the land of his mother. He will provide a foil for Santa Cruz in the tragic absense of Salvador Cabanas and could be the man to fire the key goals in South Africa.

Prediction

Ireland do not concede many goals and Paraguay are somewhat understaffed. Therefore we are unlikely to witness a classic. A tight game on the scoreboard will belie the amount of possession that the guests will enjoy.

Ireland 1-1 Paraguay