After earning a decent point amidst otherwise horrendous circumstances on Friday night, Ireland return to action at the Aviva Stadium this evening. Here's a quick run-down of where to watch Ireland v Iceland, kick-off times, coverage start time and so on.
Where to watch Ireland v Iceland
Tonight's game will be broadcast on Eir Sport 2 (Sky channel 424, or 460 if you have it in HD).
What time does coverage begin?
Coverage begins on Eir Sport 2 at 7pm.
What time is kick-off
Kick-off at the Aviva is at 7:45pm.
When was the last time Ireland played Iceland?
They're not exactly Oman, our Icelandic brethren.
We last played them in 1997, a time when Irish fans were far from happy with Roy Keane, believing he cared more for playing for Manchester United than he did his country. Here's an excerpt from a piece our own Conor Neville did when the latest Ireland v Iceland friendly was announced:
Mick McCarthy got no sort of honeymoon in the Ireland job. Straight away, he presided over six straight friendly losses. It was a bleak time and the fear was we'd have to get used to this new reality.
Roy Keane played in the opener against Russia. Ireland slumped to a 2-0 loss and Keane was red carded near the end for a taking a frustrated hack at a Russian winger.
He skipped the rest of the friendlies that summer. He gave the US Cup a miss and nor did he feature in the opening two qualifying matches.
Contentiously, he don't tell McCarthy in advance that he wasn't bothering with the US Cup. He said later on, in an interview with Paul Kimmage, that he tried to contact him but admitted he probably didn't try hard enough. Man United had won the Double and Keane said that he couldn't hack travelling around the world to play in a tournament he didn't respect.
For the tabloid press, he was the Stephen Ireland of 1996. Prior to Iceland, Keane had played four out of 22 games for Ireland. Unsurprisingly, the word went out that he cared about playing for Man United more than Ireland.
In future years, Cathal Dervan would be pegged as the ringleader of the anti-Roy Keane pack. Before the Iceland game, he urged the Lansdowne Road crowd to let Keane know what they thought of his absence.
The crowd acquiesced. Keane's first few touches were greeted boos from around the ground.
Tony O'Donoghue was writing for the then Cork Examiner in 1996. Without naming anyone, he laid into the tabloid media for whipping up hostility towards Keane.
I told my journalistic colleagues before the game that if Keane got a hostile reception they should bear much of the responsibility for that and at least have the decency to be ashamed.
It was no less shocking when he was booed. It was the saddest sound in Irish sport.
Keane was the best player by a country mile during a depressing 90 minutes for Irish football against Iceland. That 0-0 draw could yet do us untold damage and hinder our World Cup qualification hopes....
SEE ALSO: "It Was The Saddest Sound In Irish Sport" - Ireland's Dodgy History Against Iceland
Just a reminder as to where to watch Ireland v Iceland; Eir Sport 2, with coverage beginning at 7pm, and kick-off at 7:45pm. Keep an eye on Balls.ie for the Irish team, which should be announced between 6 and 7pm.
