Trapattoni keeping mum on selection

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has opted to delay naming his side for their clash with Spain for as long as possible.

After admitting that his normal practice of revealing the line-up one day before is self-defeating, Trapattoni seemed to indicate that he would deploy a five-man midfield to soak up the pressure the Spanish are expected to exert.

But fans will not know the starting Irish XI until an hour before kick-off on Thursday.

“I can’t give you the line-up, I have to think very well,” Trapattoni told a pre-match press conference in Gdansk.

“I have an idea but we can’t always give our opponents the line-up.

“Spain are a team that are very technical, so it will be very important not to give them much space, particularly in midfield.

“Our objective might be to try to win the game, but at the same time also to find a way to help the midfield because sometimes we suffer in this situation.”

Trapattoni, 73, praised the spirit of his men in recovering from their opening day setback against Croatia, claiming they had put the 3-1 defeat behind them.

“Psychologically we have overcome the defeat to Croatia. Yesterday in training I saw the same commitment and enthusiasm in the team. We are back to believing in ourselves and our quality,” the Italian said.