"I tell you one thing, Ireland could do quite well. They're a really awkward team, full of self-belief. They definitely gave us more problems in the qualifying games than Holland.

People all say what a surprise it is that Holland have not qualified for the World Cup finals but if they had seen Ireland, it would be less of a surprise to them."

The speaker is the Portugal and AC Milan playmaker Rui Costa and he made those remarks during an interview with your correspondent at AC Milan's Milanello training ground last week. Even as he was praising the Republic, one of his team-mates, Italy international Filippo Inzaghi came walking past, eavesdropping on the conversation: "What are you saying, Manu. Ireland? Come on, pull the other one," said the sceptical Inzaghi.

Mindful of the qualifying round, however, Rui Costa stuck to his pro-Ireland guns: "No, no, they put Holland out, they're a good side. If I were the Germans and Cameroon, I'd treat them with plenty of respect.When the qualifying group draw was made, everyone said that Holland were the favourites and that they were our major rivals.

"Yet, we Portuguese had already come up against Ireland, we knew about them and I think for that reason Ireland proved to be a much bigger surprise for the Dutch than for us."

One side, of course, that can no longer be labelled as a "surprise" is Rui Costa's own Portugal. Controversially eliminated from Euro 2000 at the semi-final stage when going out to France due to a bitterly-disputed penalty decision, Portugal travel to the World Cup with refound self-belief and with a talented squad that includes such as Figo, Nuno Gomes, Joao Pinto, Sergio Conceicao and Fernando Couto.

Even if he acknowledges that the current Portuguese side is a strong one, Rui Costa points out pragmatically that Portugal are just glad to be there, given that they had not qualified for a World Cup finals tournament since Mexico 1986: "Just being there is important. Being optimistic by nature, I feel sure we can get past the first round but how far we go after that, who knows? There's a huge sense of expectation back home in Portugal, all of us players have a huge sense of expectation, too, but you just have to wait and see.

"It was important for us to qualify for another reason, too, namely to continue on where we left off at Euro 2000, to prove that our good run there was no fluke.We have a strong squad of quality players, technically and tactically, and I hope that we can show that one more time at the World Cup."

The draw would appear to have been kind to the Portuguese who find themselves in an apparently "easy" first-round group along with South Korea, Poland and the US. Rui Costa agrees that, on paper, the draw looks easy but adds the ritual if not entirely convincing warning: "The important thing for us is not to start thinking that this is an easy group, even if it might look that way. Poland did very well in the qualifying round, the Americans are Americans and South Korea is a host team at the tournament."

We wondered if that controversial Euro 2000 elimination still hurt and if that hurt could prove itself an important motivating factor this summer for a side many of whom have been together since winning an under-20 World Youth Cup in 1991?

"People didn't event think we would get past the first round at Euro 2000, telling us that Germany, England and Romania would put us out. In the end we played well and it was no fluke that we got to the semi-final tie against the reigning World champions, France.

"The whole country was upset and sad when we lost but also proud. So perhaps we can set things right a bit this summer." Perhaps indeed.