ONE OF the first messages Brian Kerr gave to his players before they went on to the field to face Spain in the quarter-final of the World Youth Championships in the Shah Alam Stadium on Sunday was: "Just think of Argentina. They will be next if you can win today."

Kerr went on to elaborate: "Just think, you guys may never again get the chance to play against Argentina, even if you all go on to become senior internationals. The senior World Cup comes around only every four years so think of how many opportunities you will have to meet Argentina during your career.

It is seldom a man of Kerr's quality, ability and experience will look beyond the next match, which in this case was Spain, but the Irish manager broke from his normal routine to mention the might of Argentina, the holders of this championship.

Whether or not Kerr's words of motivation had the desired effect and whether they were the reasons why the Irish beat Spain is hard to say, but the relevant thing is that the Republic won the game. They can now claim to be one of the four best teams in the world, tops in Europe - as the only representatives of that continent in the semi-finals of the World Championships.

No one, not even the Spaniards could deny the Irish under-20s their day of glory. It was a memorable moment to see Trevor Molloy's spot kick go into the net.

The young Irish star admitted he had practised a few penalties in training. He said he always felt that, having scored, the Irish would hold on to their lead.

"The way the defence had been playing in our last few matches I knew they couldn't let us down. They are a very solid unit," said the young midfielder.

And he has no doubts about how the future lies. "I don't see any reason why we can't go all the way and take the cup. We are good enough and there is enough confidence in the team to believe that nothing is impossible for them.

The Irish go into tomorrow's semi-final with a completely clean bill of health. There were no injuries or serious knocks after Sunday's game

Molloy's score against Spain was greeted ecstatically, not just by the Irish players and backroom staff, but also the locals, with whom the Irish have struck up a wonderful relationship since they came to Malaysia.

As the party left Shah Alam yesterday morning for Kuching, their base for the next few days, the staff at the Radisson Hotel warmly wished the Irish luck for tomorrow's match with the Argentinians.

The staff said they looked forward to welcoming the squad back on Thursday, their place in the final against either Ghana or Uruguay secure.

The Irish party arrived in their new base in Kuching in Sarawak late yesterday afternoon. And what a major change of scenery and setting The Damai Lagoon Resort is from what we have had in both Alor Setar and in Shah Alam. Set near a tall mountain, the hotel is on the seashore with the waves rolling gently on to the beach. Tropical trees and shrubs adorn the setting.

However, the heat and the humidity are much more pronounced than was the case in Shah Aslam, which is on another Malaysian island. Yesterday evening lightning was flashing across the tropical sky and the thunder rolled around the hillside.