Steve Staunton yesterday survived possibly the most critical vote of confidence in his lengthy international career to claim a place in the Republic of Ireland team for this evening's return Euro 2000 meeting with Yugoslavia at Lansdowne Road. It means that he will have an opportunity to compensate for his part in the slovenly defending which enabled the Yugoslavs to plunder an important 1-0 win in the original game at Budapest last November.

Faced with the attractive option of switching Denis Irwin to left back and using Stephen Carr's emerging talent on the opposite flank, Mick McCarthy almost certainly thought long and hard about Staunton's role in this important Group Eight game.

Eventually, his decision was to keep faith with the Liverpool player who, on those occasions when he was available for selection, has been pretty much an automatic choice in the team for the last 10 years.

"Steve Staunton didn't have his greatest game for Ireland in Budapest and with his selection, he now has the chance of turning things around tomorrow night," said McCarthy. "He's been a great player in something like 77 or 78 international games and it would be remiss of me to leave him out on the evidence of just one match.

"He's still a top-class player who goes on churning out good performances, week in, week out and I've no doubt at all that he will do another important job for us in this game."

On the decision to leave out Carr, he said: "It wasn't easy because he did exceptionally well for us in the games against Sweden and Macedonia at the end of the season. But on balance, I felt this wasn't the occasion to go on using him.

"International football is hard to handle for any youngster coming into the side and Wednesday's match is a particularly important one for both countries. But when you've played as many games as Denis Irwin and Steve Staunton, it gets a little easier.

"I don't doubt young Steve's ability for a minute, but on this occasion he was just edged out by experience. The certainty is, however, that he has a big career ahead of him."

The other positions at issue were those on either side of Roy Keane and Mark Kinsella in central midfield. With Damien Duff out, Kevin Kilbane is given the job of running the left wing, a predictable enough solution to the problem of compensating for the missing skills of the Blackburn player.

After a chastening introduction to the team in a World Cup qualifying game against Iceland in Reykjavik two years ago, Kilbane has matured considerably, a point powerfully illustrated in the wins over Sweden and Macedonia.

In each instance, he made a belated introduction, but the impact of his arrival was such that in each instance he helped turn the game. That was a product of pace on the one hand and his willingness to run at defenders who had earlier looked invincible on the other.

The decision to include Kennedy, by inclination and training a left-sided player, on the opposite wing was taken only after the rival claims of Gary Kelly had been fully evaluated.

Kennedy was pressed into service by Manchester City on Monday, much to the chagrin of McCarthy, and at that point the likelihood was that he would not be selected for the Yugoslavia tie. Eventually, however, the equation for the Ireland manager was whether to go with somebody who had too much football or one who had played too little and the judgment was to go with the first risk.

"Although I understand fully why Joe Royle did what he did, I would have been a lot happier had he not used Mark on Monday," said McCarthy. "But the lad is doing well for the club and when your confidence is flowing, it's easier to take the strain.

"In Gary's case, the Yugoslav game comes too soon for him, but I've no doubt that if I want him to do a job for me at any stage of the match his response, as ever, will be very positive."

Elsewhere, Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane will lead the search for goals, although in the accepted strategy Quinn is almost certain to give way to Tony Cascarino at some point in the game. If that happens, Cascarino, who currently shares the record for international appearances with Paul McGrath on 83, will become the most-capped Ireland player of them all. Moreover, were he to score on his arrival, he would join Frank Stapleton as the most prolific scorer with 20 goals.

Judged from any angle, it's a huge game for both countries. McCarthy is careful not to label it as a "make or break" affair, preferring to reserve that appellation for the overall package of three games in eight days. But it is difficult to see how Ireland can escape if they lose this evening.

When the teams met in Budapest, it was the Irish who set out to close up the game by deploying an extra midfielder. Now the roles have switched with the Yugoslavs almost certain to shun anything approximating to adventure.

That's a strategy which comes easily enough to Vujadin Boskov's team for in spite of the finishing skills of players like Predrag Mijatovic and Savo Milosevic, Yugoslavia derive their strength primarily from a big, disciplined defence and the ability of players like Dragan Stojkovic to put it all together for them in midfield.

Since the win over Ireland, they have twice beaten Malta, scoring seven times and conceding only one in the process, but the more authentic test by far was the recent scoreless draw with Croatia. McCarthy has since studied the video of that game at length and is convinced that the Yugoslavians' strengths do not stretch to the point where they are unbeatable.

Yet, he readily admits that to succeed his team must perform better than at any time in the current competition - and that includes the 2-0 home win over a Croatian team, newly returned from their achievement in reaching the World Cup finals in France.

Given the importance of the occasion, it was always on the cards that he would base his match strategy on experience. And with Irwin, Gary Breen, Kenny Cunningham and Staunton fronting Alan Kelly, he believes he has a formation which will guard vigilantly against the possibility of the visitors striking on the break.

The more important duels, however, will be contested further afield, notably in central midfield where Roy Keane and Kinsella must suppress the threat of Stojkovic and Dejan Stankovic, the Lazio player who has now developed into a regular first-team player for his country.

Roy Keane was, by some way, the most influential player on the park in the first meeting of the countries. And while he must now readjust his game to take account of Ireland's responsibility to go forward, his input promises to be no less significant .

The inclusion of Kennedy and Kilbane on the flanks is designed to quicken the build-up. It may also enhance the quality of the crossing, which wasn't nearly precise enough to enable Quinn to exploit his aerial power in the June win over Macedonia.

On that occasion, the result masked some weaknesses in a home team which betrayed the effects of a long, hard season. Now with fresh legs to sustain them and Roy Keane available to dictate the tempo and the tactics, the hope is that it will produce the improvement required to beat the group favourites.