To complete the defensive line, we pick two from O'Shea, Finnan and Carr. For my money, Finnan is the best of the three. He makes the fewest mistakes and gives away the fewest frees. His crossing has improved significantly and if he gets a regular run in the team, expect him to weigh in with a few “assists”.

Stephen Carr has developed a reckless streak and needs control his temper. He was one of the finest full-backs in the Premiership, and there is no reason why he cannot be one again. He has pace and strength, and has already captained both Tottenham and Newcastle, signs that he is not short of character. With a little more self-control, he can go back to being one of the best.

John O'Shea is an enigma. He is a classy stylish footballer, well able to play smooth passes and not shy to take a run forward and even try the occasional shot. But he makes basic mistakes, and he lacks steel and grit. If Roy Keane is indeed mentoring some of the newer players, one of the first things he should do is explain to O'Shea the merits of “the reducer” (or he could just refer O'Shea to Marc Overmars).

Alan Maybury is also there in the background.. With injuries and suspensions he is bound to get the occasional cap, and he will not let us down. He is dependable against most opposition, but will struggle against the best. Fourth choice.

Since he made his debut in 1996, Shay Given has been easily our best goalkeeper. With all due respect to the likes of Kiely, Colgan and Kenny, Shay Given is simply a lot better. In the first half of the Switzerland match he pulled off three incredible saves, one from a scorching free kick, and two from point-blank range. He deserved his man-of-the-match award, although when your goalkeeper wins that particular bauble, it says something about the players in front of him that he had to be so prolific.

Those are the players that featured in our opening games. When examined man-for-man, it's probably the strongest squad we've had since 1988, yet sometimes it flatters to deceive. The midfield of Duff, Keane, Kilbane and Reid which faced the Swiss, had three left-wingers in it, and not surprisingly left acres of space on the right. If Stephen Carr was on form, he might possibly have exploited it, but to be fair to Carr, it's not his first priority.

Given the lack of an adequate partner for Robbie Keane, perhaps the time has come to accept Duff as a striker. He will give us a different kind of threat than Morrison or Doherty, and in the past has linked up well with Robbie Keane. We could then move Kilbane back to the left wing. While not as creative as Duff, he is a tireless worker and also gives more defensive cover than Duff ever did.

Andy Reid is worth another chance on the right. Roy Keane is obviously in the centre, and has the in-form player out of Miller and Holland beside him.

For full-backs, stick with the stability of Finnan and Carr, with O'Shea ready for either of them to slip up. The centre halves and goalkeeper selections are too obvious to even point out.

That's our best team, and given full fitness, that's who should face the French.

Ah oui….Les Bleus. What exactly is happening over there? Thus far the French have been far from convincing. Israel actually deserved their draw in Paris. Yes, that is the same Israel who had to come from behind to beat Cyprus 2-1. In addition to the recently retired Zidane, Thuram, Desailly and Lizarazu, France will be without the suspended Viera. While the Patrick and Roy “Celebrity Deathmatch” would have been enthralling viewing, we're safer with Viera watching from the sidelines.

The Faroe Islands, Cyprus and Israel should pose no threat, Israel's opening draw notwithstanding. As it stands, it will be two from ourselves, Switzerland and France who go through. The draw in Basle may have looked disappointing. Sometimes in a close match, we say that neither team deserved to lose. This was a game where neither team deserved to win. The Swiss team had as many holes as their famous cheese, but the Irish attack was too toothless to bite into said cheese. Nonetheless we got an away draw, and in this respect we have an advantage over Switzerland. If we could get a draw in Paris, that would be a far more significant achievement. This French team will find their form (hopefully not too soon). Despite their somewhat shaky start, they will top the group, and we have the ability to come second. If we don't at least do that much, Brian Kerr's extended honeymoon will come to an abrupt end.

Bill Quigley’s world cup blog Absent Irish is now online