Captain Robbie Keane insists his Republic of Ireland team-mates are fully motivated to grapple with Germany tonight even though Euro 2008 qualification appears out of reach.

The in-form Tottenham striker will be playing for pride when he steps out at Croke Park for the tie with the Group D leaders.

"We still have pride to play for," he says. "You are playing for your country and every time you put that shirt on you want to win. It doesn't matter who it's against.

"We know it's almost impossible to qualify now but we still have a lot to play for. Who knows? But we can't go into a game thinking just because its difficult to qualify it's okay to take the foot off the gas."

The Tallaghtman will draw on his Ibaraki memories of five years ago. His memorable late equaliser against Germany virtually assured Mick McCarthy's team of qualification from the World Cup group stages.

But Keane is convinced Germany are a stronger force now than they were then and he appreciates the difficulty of the task at hand.

"They have great players and lots of strength in depth which perhaps they didn't have at that World Cup. But every player wants to play in the big games and it doesn't get bigger than Germany at Croke Park in front of a full house.

"Ibaraki was a great occasion but that's gone now. That's in the past, I have to look forward to this game. That's the future."

Steve Staunton was a team-mate of Keane's in Japan and holds fond memories of that night for more reasons than one.

"Personally it was a great night for me getting my 100th cap," says the manager, "but the most important thing on the night was that we didn't get beat.

"When we went into the last 15 minutes we knew we had nothing to lose. So we threw everything at the Germans, otherwise we were out.

"When you're hanging on to a lead by just a goal it's always difficult no matter who you are. And Robbie came up with a great goal on the night."

Another one from the 27-year-old tonight would go some way to saving face after another disappointing campaign. But Keane believes there are many positives the players can draw from the last two years and points to a bright future.

"The future is certainly bright," adds Keane. "Look at the young players that have come into the squad in recent years, certainly since Stan took over. Its been a massive change.

"Some senior players have left and the new breed has come in. I think over the next few years with this squad coming together we're only going to get better."