Managers' reaction: You take a risk when you invite the Italians to your home just a short while before you are scheduled to entertain the French. The Italians can be ungracious house guests and may pay scant attention to what your requirements are as a host-in-waiting.

You might, for instance, want an ego-swelling bagful of goals and the chance to run through some silky little moves which even the French will concede have panache. The Italians, though, might just come and try to cut your throat before they have wiped their feet.

Marcello Lippi was defiant afterwards. If it was a tomato can-sparring partner you wanted you should have invited Northern Ireland down for the evening.

He parked himself donnishly in front of us and explained patiently what had just gone on. He wore the expression of one who had seen everything and done everything at least twice.

"What we wanted to do this evening," he said "was to come out in the first half with more skill. We played more offensively in the first half. In the second half we changed our system. We kept going well but we suffered in the last 10 minutes. It was a fair result. We deserved to win."

So there.

But what, we asked, as we always do, what about us. What did you think of us. How will we do against the French.

He smiled thinly. Off again into mellifluous Italian. We heard great names mentioned. We hoped it would be sugar-coated in translation.

"They will have Makelele, Thuram, Zidane. They will be a French side with more skill. A different France. A better France. Never say never though. Ireland have a chance."

Hmmm.

As ringing endorsements go this wasn't exactly the Liberty Bell.

Brian Kerr came among us. It had been a mixed night, but Brian is too much of connoisseur of football to let his first home defeat obscure his view of an unexpectedly enjoyable game of football.

There were things to learn everywhere. The Italians were no sooner in the door than they began finding fault with the defence. Vieri picked at two good chances before the Garda band had put their trombones away and after just 11 minutes Andrea Pirlo tucked away a sweet little gem of a goal.

So it went. Nesta gave Shay Given's crossbar a dusting with an outrageous volley and just past the half hour a long pass by Del Piero ended in a goal by Alberto Gilardino.

It was about then that we began to wonder if the entire evening wasn't a mistake. You could see Kerr looking at the names in gold writing on the backs of the Italian jerseys. Vieri! Del Piero! Gattuso! Nesta! Gold writing for god's sake. What were we thinking, having them over? And just look at the stadium! And where are those two Keanes? Kerr has bred his boys to use the fine cutlery, however.

They might look uncouth at times, but they've been to finishing school. No sooner had Gilardino apparently put the game beyond reach than Andy Reid took cruel advantage of a faux pas by Cristian Zaccardo and swept the ball to the Italian net. Everybody having a lovely time? Well, not so bad as it turned out.

"It was a decent performance from us I thought. It was a tough match technically; I thought they were superior to us, and physically they were stronger. We gave away some good chances to them, but we made a lot of chances as well," said Kerr.

Then one of those moments that managers tell each other about when they discuss media. "Why did you decide to start with 4-5-1?"

"I didn't. I started with 4-3-3."

Pause.

"Would you like to rephrase the question?"

"Umm why did you start with 4-3-3-?"

"Because I knew they would be strong there and I didn't want us to be overrun with just two in midfield. They have excellent players in there. As it was it took us a while to come to grips with their system. I think in Ireland we have been particularly slavish to the 4-4-2. It's part of our education to try something else."

And will you use this system against the French.

Another pause.

"I might. Then again I might not."

And so on. Kerr picked out several positive threads. He had seen John O'Shea play in the centre of midfield several times for Manchester United and wanted to give that a try. It worked well.

He wanted to see how Clinton Morrison would stand up to leading the attack, physically and otherwise. He stood up well. Met the challenge.

In the end the Irish side had 14 shots on goal and had a late equaliser disallowed. Unfairly thought Kerr. The French are a couple of weeks away yet.

"I was happy. We got all the players on that we wanted to get on. As regards the French quality that they show in their league and their emergence elsewhere, it was a good exercise to us."

And that was it. What's done is done. A first home defeat but a night of learning. Not all good but not all bad either.