It says a great deal about how far the Republic of Ireland's youth teams have come over the past few years that it is Brian Kerr's side, rather that Howard Wilkinson's, that goes into tonight's vital European Youth Championships Group B qualifying match in Derynia as marginal favourites to come out on top.
Both managers declared themselves happy with their teams' performances on the opening night of these finals, but Wilkinson did not dispute yesterday that it was Ireland's 5-2 hammering of Croatia that had been the more impressive result, and one that puts the pressure firmly on England to win this evening to avoid the risk of the group placings being decided on goal difference.
"Our first-half wasn't one of our better performances, but the second half was a lot better and the scoreline could have been greater with a little better finishing and a little more luck," said the former Leeds United boss yesterday. "We had the Irish game watched, though, and the report I got back was that the Irish demolished the Croats, so you might say that that makes them the team to beat in the group."
Wilkinson has seen the Irish in action a few times over the past year, watching a couple of the games in Malaysia last year as well as this side's friendly game in France in early spring, and admits to being impressed with the amount of talent coming through at underage level.
Stephen McPhail, one of several Irish youngsters he signed during his time at Elland Road, is, he says, the closest he has seen to a young Liam Brady. He believes that the number of other quality players available to Kerr is the inevitable consequence of the upsurge in interest in the game across Ireland that followed the success of the Jack Charlton era.
He has a few decent prospects to choose from himself, though, and although Everton's Danny Cadamarteri is rated as doubtful for this evening's game after picking up a calf strain in the 2-1 defeat of Cyprus, most of his very best players will be available to line out for this game.
Until Cadamarteri's fitness is finally determined at lunchtime today, Wilkinson will not make a decision on who will partner the powerful Leeds striker Lee Matthews, who scored both of the English goals on Sunday. But the bulk of the team, it appears, will be unchanged with wing backs Michael Ball of Everton and Newcastle's Andrew Griffin again providing the attacking impetus in a 5-3-2 formation.
The Irish line-up is less certain with the size of Ireland's win against Croatia providing Kerr with something of a dilemma. Under the rules of the competition the result between two countries level on points at the end of the group stage is used to separate them before goal difference comes into play.
The 5-2 win puts the Irish in a strong position to make the final, but only as long as they don't get beaten tonight. It's a game each team will want to win, both managers agree, but when it comes down to it Kerr observes: "They mainly have to beat us".
That may prompt a more defensive outlook from the Irish manager, who could use just one out-and-out striker supported by Richie Partridge and Ronnie O'Brien from wide in midfield or drop Partridge, the one winger he did use on Sunday, to bring in the likes of Alan Quinn or Ryan Casey.
But his continued praise for his team's attacking play yesterday morning tended to suggest that he was finding it hard to contemplate any tinkering. "If you could bottle that attacking play, you'd be a happy man for ever," he said.
At the back, neither Gary Doherty nor Richard Dunne did especially well against Croatia, but both had firmly established themselves as his first choices before coming out to Cyprus and it seems unlikely that either will lose out at this stage.
Kerr's preparations for the game have, meanwhile, been helped along by the owner of a local Irish bar called O'Rourke's where the owner, a Cypriot known as Jimmy whose wife is from Wexford, has been doing his bit for the cause. Three busloads of supporters travelled from the bar to Sunday's game and the proprietor had, he announced to Kerr afterwards, arranged for the England game to be videotaped.
After a celebratory drink in the bar on Sunday night and armed with the tape, Kerr climbed into a taxi to return his hotel only to discover the driver had been the reluctant cameraman at the game earlier that evening.
"I'm helping you to beat Cyprus too, which is not good," he confided in the Irish boss. "But I have no choice because if I didn't help, Jimmy said he wouldn't give me any more work."
