SOCCER:AFTER THE hint of experimentation in Belgrade a few weeks ago, the critics will view Giovanni Trapattoni's decision to revert to his usual formation for this evening's opening qualifier of the World Cup 2014 campaign as further proof that the manager is incapable of delivering the change they crave.

With more than half of his regular starting line-up from Poland absent for one reason or another, however, the Italian was trumpeting this selection last night as representing a fresh start for a team that could probably do with one in the wake of the Euros.

Trapattoni has tended to avoid upheaval on such a scale, but it has not been unknown during his reign. Midway through the last qualifying campaign, for each of the games against Macedonia, he made six changes and on each occasion the game was won.

Three points tonight and it will, as it was then, be viewed as mission accomplished for his team, but if any sort of real confidence that Ireland can get out of a group in which top spot appears to be accounted for and the Swedes are in pole position for the play-offs then tonight would probably have to yield a little more than that.

A glance at Kazakhstan’s record over the last few years suggests they are a decent case study for anyone arguing that easy games in international football are a thing of the past. With a side drawn almost exclusively from a domestic league ranked a couple of places below our own by Uefa, however, they remain a team that aspiring qualifiers almost certainly have to beat home and away if they are not to be disappointed at the end of the campaign.

“The result of the game is important if we are going to continue the campaign with confidence,” said the 73-year-old last night. “I’ve seen them play many times and they are fast and technical but in Serbia I saw a good team spirit and enthusiasm for the new campaign and in training over the last few days there has been a good attitude from everyone.”

He went on to acknowledge that the number of changes he has had to make is greater than he would have liked but was upbeat about the potential of James McCarthy and Simon Cox to make a positive impact and upbeat too about the way in which they might be guided in their ongoing development as senior internationals by some of the side’s older heads.

“We need to change the team but slowly,” he said. “The young players are strong but they lack experience. It is important, though, that we have Robbie (Keane), John (O’Shea) and Glenn (Whelan), one, two, three players in important positions help us.”

Keane, who continues as captain for the new campaign, reckons Jon Walters’s role will be similar enough to the one usually played over the last few years by Kevin Doyle and that his own will not change much even if, he suggests: “I’ll probably play a little bit deeper than I normally would in order to help the midfield a bit.”

Behind him, though, he acknowledges that things will be a bit different without Damien Duff and one of the side’s more experienced central midfielders. “Simon’s a striker who can play on the right but he’s not a natural winger so he’ll probably tuck in a bit more.

“I’ve seen a lot of James McCarthy this season,” he continued, “and I’ve been really impressed by him. He’s a very clever player, a good passer who probably sees things a second or so quicker than a lot of other people.”

It is a gift that could significantly improve the side whose inability to move the ball about at a decent tempo when attempting to exert pressure on opponents is regularly its undoing.

At the back, Keiren Westwood’s performance is likely to be an important factor in determining Ireland’s fortunes but the Sunderland goalkeeper generally handled himself well on the few occasions he deputised for Shay Given in the past and he marked his elevation to number one with a strong performance against Serbia.

More interesting, perhaps, will be how the central defensive partnership of Darren O’Dea and Seán St Ledger gets on, for it is a glimpse of what life might look like over the course of this campaign if Richard Dunne is not available on a regular basis.

Both men have struggled at times to hold down places in Championship sides and with Dunne always tending to raise his game when playing for his country there is always the fear that each has been helped to some extent by playing beside him in much the same way that Roy Keane used to make just about anybody alongside him look like a pretty capable central midfielder.

Ireland do not generally score so freely that they can concede without giving the few, remarkably dedicated fans who have made the journey here, a terribly anxious night in the stands. A win, though, combined with a decent result and Ireland can, as Keane insisted last night they must, start to lay to rest the memory of the European Championships.

Whether Trapattoni’s men can start eyeing up qualification for the World Cup with confidence rather than hope will certainly not be settled by an Irish victory tonight but if the visitors leave points behind then the reality is that Brazil will look that little bit more like a pipe dream.