Norway v Ireland preview

Trapattoni prepares for 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign

Last updated: 20th August 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Norway v Ireland preview

Trapattoni: Norway test

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Republic of Ireland take on Norway at Ullevaal Stadion in their final international friendly before they embark on their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Head coach Giovanni Trapattoni will be aiming to come away from Wednesday's fixture with a positive result as he prepares for back-to-back qualifiers against Georgia, which will take place at a neutral venue, and Montenegro in September.

Trapattoni, who took over as Ireland boss in February, has already confirmed 10 of his starting 11 for the encounter against Age Hareide's men.

Steven Reid remains the Italian's only fitness doubt with Liam Miller poised to replace the Blackburn midfielder should he fail to recover from a knee problem.

Trapattoni bows

Experienced shot-stopper Shay Given, full-back Steve Finnan, who came out of international retirement at the manager's request for the encounter, and the fit-again Kevin Kilbane will make their first appearances under Trapattoni's reign.

Liverpool's £20million forward Robbie Keane will skipper the side, and could come up against former Reds team-mate John Arne Riise, who moved to Roma this summer.

Aston Villa's John Carew, Fulham duo Brede Hangeland and Erik Nevland, and Blackburn winger Morten Gamst Pedersen could all be set for roles.

On the fixture, Hareide said: "We have to play Scotland in the qualifying games for the World Cup and this game against Ireland will give us a good idea of what to expect against the Scots."

Republic of Ireland last played Norway in 2003 when a Damien Duff goal gave former manager Brian Kerr a 1-0 win.