Rep Ireland v Croatia preview

Preview for Sunday night's Euro 2012 Group C clash between Republic of Ireland and Croatia in Poznan (kick-off 7.45pm BST).

Last Updated: 10/06/12 at 22:08   

Given: Has proven his fitness

Given: Has proven his fitness

Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed he will field his strongest possible team in the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2012 opener against Croatia.

Trapattoni announced his side, barring injuries of unforeseen circumstances, last week and having seen his players come through their final training session in Gdynia unscathed before heading down to Poznan, will stick with his original selection.

That means goalkeeper Shay Given and defender John O'Shea, who have been managing injuries over the last three weeks, have proven their fitness.

For Croatia, defender Vedran Corluka has been given the all-clear to play after complaining of a hamstring injury on Thursday.

"They've done a scan this morning, and the scan showed, thank God, nothing, no rupture... so we are expecting him to play on Sunday," said coach Slaven Bilic.

"It is a relief because Corluka is one of our generals, like a senator, and he's the leader of the defence and he's one of the most important players for us."

Bilic has already lost striker Ivica Olic and midfielder Ivo Ilicevic to injury in the build-up to the first game. Nikola Kalinic and Sime Vrsaljko were called up to replace them in the 23-man squad.

Republic of Ireland team v Croatia: Given; O'Shea, St Ledger, Dunne, Ward; Duff, Whelan, Andrews, McGeady, Keane (capt), Doyle.

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European Championships

Position Team P GD PTS
1 Czech Rep 3 -1 6
2 Greece 3 0 4
3 Russia 3 2 4
4 Poland 3 -1 2

Updated Wed, 20 Jun 2012

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