Hunt hoping for England match-up
Republic of Ireland striker Noel Hunt would love a chance to play against England in the Euro 2012 Championships next summer, according to Waterford radio station Beat 102-103FM.
The draw for the championships will be made this evening and the Waterford-born international said it would give Giovanni Trapattoni’s men a chance to show how good they are against Fabio Capello’s side.
Hunt said: “I think I would like us to play against England. I think on the day we could show it is not just an individual player that makes a team. It's a team effort.”
The Republic of Ireland are in the fourth group of seeds for the draw alongside Denmark, the Czech Republic and France.
Capello’s England are in the second group along with Euro 2008 runners-up Germany, 2006 world champions Italy and Russia.
Reigning world and European champions Spain are in the top group of seeds, accompanied by 2010 World Cup finalists Holland plus co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, who have already been allocated to groups A and D respectively.
The pots have been decided on the countries’ UEFA coefficient rankings, except for the co-hosts.
Hunt is optimistic about Ireland’s chances in Poland-Ukraine and thinks we can progress from the group stages at the very least.
He said: “In every major competition I fancy us to at least get out of the group. It depends on who our group would be. You know, do you want an easy group or a couple of hard teams in there to get you ready? But I still fancy us to get out of the group.”
But the Reading striker is hoping first and foremost to force his way into Trappatoni’s Euro 2012 panel.
He said: “I hope to get into the squad, but the quality in that squad is very high. I do fancy myself to be in it.
“I will try to push from now to the end of the season, it would be nice for me to get in. Obviously it would be a big part of my career to be involved in the squad.”
The forward feels that qualification for Euro 2012 is a big achievement and a boost for the whole country.
He is hoping that the prospect of an international tournament will lift the spirits of everyone in Ireland.
He said: “It's massive. It's a big thing for the country and for the fans. You know, I was so happy when we qualified. It gives the country something to look forward to. I've been home and I've seen the way things are going with work. Hopefully it'll bring a bit of joy into the summer for next year. It's a big thing for us.”
Follow proceedings with us here and on twitter @breakingsportie.
The draw will be shown live from 5.30pm on RTE2 and, for those with satellite or cable, from 5pm on Eurosport.
:: Seedings for Euro 2012
Pot 1: Spain, Holland, Poland, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Germany, Italy, England, Russia.
Pot 3: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden.
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland
