We'd like to be professional on days like this but who are we kidding, June 13th is finally here and we're absolutely fecking delighted. As much as we all love to see the Irish fans taking over Paris, what we really want to see is the football.
We want to see how the Irish backline deals with Zlatan, we want to see if Shane Long really can do what we're all expecting from him. Above all, we want to get inside that stadium and celebrate seeing Ireland thrive in a major tournament setting for the first time in 14 years.
We're besides ourselves with excitement but we have to talk about the team that's going to head to Saint Denis and take three points off Sweden. All the talk in recent months have been about the squad but now we're down to the crux of the matter. Who will Martin O'Neill turn to when it all comes down to it?
O'Neill is notoriously secretive when it comes to his team selection. The team themselves won't know until they get in the dressing room later today but, despite that, the training in Versailles and the inklings coming out of the camp has given us a few hints over the past few days.
Wes Hoolahan won't start every match of the group stage, fans are going to have to come to terms with that, but he will likely start against the Swedes in his usual roaming attacking midfield position. Jon Walters will similarly be given a undefined attacking role, ostensibly from the wing but more likely popping up wherever he's needed in support of Shane Long.
In midfield, the dual metronomes of Whelan and McCarthy are certainties but it's the other midfield position that looks to be up for debate. It has been Jeff Hendrick's to lose and the soundings this morning would suggest that he may just have lost it to Stephen Quinn. It's seemingly 50/50 between those two so don't be surprised to Quinn slot in there on the left hand side of the midfield trio.
It's at centre back that there's likely to be most cause for Martin O'Neill to have lost some sleep overnight. O'Shea and Keogh have served us well but when Marcus Berg suggested during the week that Sweden would look to get in behind Ireland's slow centre backs, he was only telling the truth.
O'Shea's a guarantee but there's every possibility that O'Neill will look to either Clark or Duffy to take over from Keogh. The training setup in Versaille this week would suggest that it just might be the Blackburn man to get the nod. Strong in the air and a bit more mobile than Keogh, it may just be Duffy's chance to shine tonight.
Predicted Ireland starting XI to face Sweden
So that's that, now all that's left to say is come on you boys in green.
