Friday 24 March 2017 17:46, UK
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has insisted his players must prove their World Cup credentials all over again in their game against Wales in Dublin.
Ireland face Wales in a World Cup Qualifier in Dublin on Friday night, live on Sky Sports 1HD, knowing that victory would put them in an ideal position to book a place at Russia 2018.
The Republic head into the fixture at the Aviva Stadium two points clear at the top of Group D having registered 10 points from a possible 12 in the campaign so far, two better off than Serbia in second and four ahead of third-placed Wales.
Following a successful showing at last summer's Euro 2016, O'Neill has warned that his players must prove themselves again if they are to qualify for Russia.
"Every single game that you play, you have to go and prove yourself," said O'Neill. "We have some results that went before that won't count for anything at all.
"We have some points on the board, which is great from that viewpoint, but again we're on show tomorrow night and we have to go and prove ourselves again.
"I think the players are confident. We have 10 points on the board and three of those games have been away from home. Naturally we are going into the game with confidence.
"But there is a distance to go. I did think that teams were capable of taking points from each other and I think that has been proved."
ONeill's squad will go into the clash suffering somewhat of an injury crisis however, with centre-half pair Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark, midfielders Wes Hoolahan and Harry Arter and striker Daryl Murphy all ruled out.
Everton midfielder James McCarthy is also a doubt for the game, while Burnley's Robbie Brady is suspended.
While bemoaning his misfortune, O'Neill has backed his stretched squad to cope against Chris Coleman's Euro 2016 semi-finalists.
"We've lost a couple of good players, but I think we have players who can come in, who want to come in and they want to play," O'Neill added.
"Regardless of what league they're in, they want to play as strongly as possible. They want to get a place in the team, which is great news.
"With us qualifying for the Euros last year and our achievements out there at the time, younger players just want to come in and be part of it - and not just part of the squad, they want to be in the team."
