Serbia's Branislav Ivanovic wary of 'difficult' Irish in World Cup qualifying
Sunday 4 September 2016 13:22, UK
Serbia skipper Branislav Ivanovic believes the Republic of Ireland could be their most difficult opponents in 2018 World Cup qualifying.
The teams meet in Belgrade on Monday live on Sky Sports 2 as Group D gets underway and Chelsea defender Ivanovic has singled out Martin O'Neill's men as a major threat.
Wales, Austria, Moldova and Georgia are the other teams in the section chasing one automatic qualification berth.
Ivanovic said: "Ireland is a very difficult opponent to start the qualification with - I would say the most difficult, probably - but if we play like we did and like we have trained for this type of play, then we can do well.
"Ireland is an opponent that needs to be respected, that demands respect, and what I am especially impressed about is their level of continuity.
"They have been playing together for a while, there's a nice mix of young players and players with experience.
"It might be the fact that I have played in the Premier League for so long that I understand how difficult an opponent Ireland really is.
"They are aggressive and they make up for any faults that the team might have by giving their all every second.
"Each of the players - and especially the two that you mentioned (Shane Long and Jonathan Walters) - are very difficult to defend against."
Serbia are bidding to reach a tournament for the first time since the 2010 World Cup and their absence has been down to a combination of factors.
As well as poor results of their own, the abandonment of qualifiers against Italy and Albania due to crowd and on-field trouble have also had an impact.
Ivanovic added: "The biggest disappointment for a player and for a professional is not to be at the highest level of competition at major competitions like European Championships, like the World Cup.
"We are the ones who are most to blame for this. Of course, there were a couple of situations that were not up to us and were not our fault, but these things happen.
"I think we are ready to go forward now. I know that this is a difficult opponent and there are some difficult opponents in this group.
"But I also recognise the quality that Ireland and Wales and other teams like this have and I'm not surprised that they made it to the European Championships."
