The Republic of Ireland scored only four times in their 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Dublin but Martin O’Neill is not concerned as his side prepare to face Denmark on Tuesday.
A 0-0 first-leg draw in Copenhagen, where the Republic had only two shots on target, means one goal would be enough for the hosts at the Aviva Stadium while another goal‑less tie would leave them relying on a penalty shoot-out to reach Russia.
The Republic scored only 12 goals in their 10 qualifiers and their attack is likely to be led by Southampton’s Shane Long, who has not scored in 29 games for club and country.
Although the statistics are not promising, O’Neill says the Republic have traditionally been low scorers and have overcome that in the past. The Republic manager pointed out that while Robbie Keane tops the country’s all-time list with 68 goals, the player in second, Niall Quinn, is 47 goals behind.
“You have to treat the game on its own merits,” said O’Neill. “You can’t look at the past now and say: ‘Well, we didn’t do this and we didn’t do that’. Some of the games we might have scored more in but we’re not prolific. Really top-quality Republic sides have not been able to score.
“You have Robbie Keane out on his own and the next person to him is someone who might have forced a corner or something like that. Seriously, that is the case.
“There have been great players who have played for the Republic of Ireland in their history and they have never been prolific.
“We have to find the net and we think we’re capable of doing it. We find everything tough, it’s the nature of us. We don’t have all the skills that maybe other nations have.
“So far, the lads have come up big in matches and [Tuesday] is a massive game and we hope to do it again.”
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