Teams prepare for crucial World Cup play-offs

Richard Dunne admits he may have to crawl off the pitch against France on Saturday if he is to keep his World Cup dream alive. The Republic of Ireland defender knows he and his colleagues will be fully tested when French coach Raymond Domenech unleashes his formidable strike force at Croke Park, with Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Karim Benzema all at his disposal. However, Dunne is confident a united approach, from skipper Robbie Keane all the way back to keeper Shay Given, can see Ireland through. Asked about the pace in the France squad, the 30-year-old said: "We will just have to adapt as it goes along. "They are obviously very fast, but the whole thing for our team is they have got players all over the pitch who can skip past players, so if someone gets beaten, someone has to cover. "There has to be two, always, and if we all come off the pitch crawling because we are that tired, it has to be that way because we are going to have to work extra hard to help each other out and get the prize at the end of it."

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ITN | November 13, 2009

Tags:. .domenech. .anelka. .france. .benzema. .formidable