It is hard to fathom that Ireland might actually line out against Yugoslavia in seven days. The imminence of that fixture - and the uncertainty and controversy which dogs it - means today's friendly against Northern Ireland comes at an appropriate time.

The bottom line is that Mick McCarthy and his players have become the victims of UEFA's typically lily-livered response to the unfolding political crisis which has rendered Group Eight a logistical nightmare.

For a start, it is scarcely believable that the Yugoslavs are seriously considering playing a football match at a time when NATO is bombing their country. Even though all the Irish domestic plans are ostensibly in place - tickets allocated, television coverage arranged, a near sell-out anticipated - the Yugoslavs still face a lot of problems. Only yesterday I heard that the baggage carriers at Dublin Airport will not handle their luggage, whatever the truth of that.

Reports that the Yugoslavs are attaching some sort of political import to this match - hoping that it will symbolise the continuity of relations with non-NATO members - just highlights how far removed from sport this whole issue has become.

While the Irish Government has explicitly made known its disappointment that the FAI have acceded to UEFA's directive that the match go ahead as scheduled, it is not so difficult to explain the FAI mindset away.

Ultimately, they can just point the finger at UEFA and remind everyone that they are obliged to follow their guidelines. And without being too cynical, this match represents the FAI's biggest pay date in a group fairly bereft of glamorous opposition. I am given to understand that next Saturday's game is expected to be a near sell-out, even though questions have been raised about compromising moral integrity and principle by playing the game.

I'm not sure any of this will affect the players too greatly. Like any other group of individuals, they will have been appalled by some of the images we have seen from Kosovo, and obviously that Slobodan Milosevic is now wanted for war crimes is an indictment against the nation. But it is easy to push that aside when you are facing 11 other guys on a field.

I think that if the match does go ahead, the political backdrop will evaporate and the players will view it as just an opportunity to play. Whether that is right is up to the individual to decide, but the ticket sales would suggest that most Irish supporters endorse it.

To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me, though, if the plans for the game collapse at the last minute. UEFA have to move soon. This deadline of June 15th is ludicrous - it is blatantly obvious that the political situation won't have resolved itself by then. They have already kicked Yugoslavia out of the Inter Toto Cup, in favour of Macedonia, and if it isn't feasible for them to enter that competitions, then how can they remain in this one?

Everything leads to only one tenable solution: the inevitable expulsion of the Yugoslavs. UEFA acted with clinical swiftness in removing them from the European championships in 1992; why they are stalling now is beyond me.

So even though Mick McCarthy has to approach today's friendly in terms of preparing for a crucial qualifying match next week, it seems increasingly likely that, in a few months, the result of that game will be declared null and void.

Today, though, will be a worthwhile exercise. Obviously, he has picked a team which will most likely mirror that which will take on the Yugoslavs. Roy Keane's absence is an untold blow to McCarthy, and he now opts for Mark Kinsella and Lee Carsley in the centre of midfield, with a view to employing them in similar roles for the Yugoslav match. Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane form the front pairing, and after that it was a matter of filling in the blanks. But McCarthy can learn from this match.

I was fairly scathing about the timing and meaninglessness of the match against Sweden given that it immediately preceded the last two weeks of the Premiership and players were both concentrating elsewhere and mentally drained.

But with the season over, they can focus solely on international duty and Northern Ireland will provide keen opposition.

Sure, they are missing some banner names, the likes of Jim Magilton and Keith Gillespie. But given their disappointing results in their own group, they will hope to salvage some sort of morale boost from this.

For the Republic, well, it's just another chance to play, to fashion another home win and to go into this bizarre fixture against the Yugoslavs with a positive mental attitude. Positivity is something they will have to call upon a lot before this weird Group Eight is laid to rest.

(In an interview with Keith Duggan)