Republic of Ireland boss Steve Staunton is under no illusions that future matches will be as easy as last night’s 3-0 win against an uninspired Sweden side.
But as Staunton rightly pointed out, after 90 magical minutes that offered hope of a bright future, his players made the Swedes "look poor".
Centre-back Richard Dunne was immense, John O’Shea and Steven Reid formed a solid central midfield axis, Damien Duff made easy work of sorry-looking Southampton right-back Alexander Ostlund, while new captain Robbie Keane looked hungry as ever.
When England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson reviews the tape of this game he might well rub his hands, because on this evidence coach Lars Lagerback’s side will pose little threat when the teams meet in a World Cup group clash this summer.
After witnessing goals from Duff, Keane and Liam Miller that lit up Lansdowne Road, Staunton said: "It was a bit of a fairytale, but I am not kidding myself because I know we’re going to face hard times.
"The players have now set high standards, but hopefully we can go on from here. It’s looking good. They played with passion and commitment. Their attitude was superb, and they gave the supporters something to cheer about, which is what I asked of them, and what I got.
"It’s better than what I expected. The players gave me what they had been doing in training over the last few days - and a bit more. But I know what they are like. They are wonderful players. They had showed us that in the few days we were together.
"Damien and Robbie led by example, but I can go through the whole team because the lads on the bench played their part in giving those on the pitch their support. It was tremendous."
Duff was outstanding, with the Chelsea winger today celebrating his 27th birthday with his first international goal for 27 months in the 36th minute.
Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer Keane made it 26 goals in 65 appearances with a right-foot half-volley two minutes into the second half. The icing on the cake came with Leeds midfielder Miller scoring his first for the Republic with a sumptuous 25-yard dipping strike in the 71st minute.
"After this performance, the sad thing is we haven’t qualified for the World Cup," added Staunton. "We know Sweden are a good side, but we made them look poor, although I am sure they will be a lot better than this at the World Cup.
"I know what it’s like going into an away fixture and you see a full house, it’s a cold night and there is a bobbly pitch. Our lads are used to it, but sometimes the opposition can let it get to them and maybe that’s what happened to Sweden.
"But I would like to think our attitude was right. I wanted us to be on the front foot, and I thought we did that from the start."
Lagerback felt it was his side’s worst performance for many years, claiming it "was a bad day at work". He added: "I don’t think we have had such a day since I started with my first game against Spain. If there is eight years between such performances then maybe that is not so bad.
"But credit to Ireland because they showed greater levels of concentration and were much more aggressive, while we just didn’t play as a team."
