Robbie Keane speaks to the press during a news conference in New Jersey. (Pic: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Robbie Keane and his teammates have a chance to repair the psychological damage they suffered at the hands of Spain at last summer’s Euro 2012 finals.

Ireland lost each of their three games in Poland, to Croatia and Italy and in between them Spain, who ran out comfortable 4-0 winners.

Only Keane and central defender Sean St Ledger who started that night in Gdansk will do so against the Spaniards at Yankee Stadium, with Ireland having recovered substantially since with just one defeat in their last eight games.

Asked about the fall-out from a difficult campaign, the striker said: “It was difficult for everyone because of the manner in which we were beaten by teams, whereas in the past, that has never been the case.

“The way we set our stall out to play against these teams and how we are always a very, very hard team to beat, for whatever reason at the Euros, it just didn’t happen for us.

“In saying that, we were playing against the two finalists, Italy and Spain, at that time, the best teams. It was always going to be difficult for us, but the way we were beaten was disappointing for everybody.”

The transformation in fortunes has coincided with the emergence of a new generation of Ireland players, two of whom could face the daunting task of going head-to-head with Barcelona superstars Xavi and Andres Iniesta tomorrow (Wednesday).

Wigan’s James McCarthy has established himself as a first-choice central midfielder for his country in recent months despite being just 22, but he will be the senior partner in the Irish engine room alongside Derby’s Jeff Hendrick, 21.

Hendrick will make his first start for his country after three previous appearances as a substitute, and Keane believes the rise of pair, along with full-back Seamus Coleman, who will line up on the right side of midfield against the Spaniards, is cause for real optimism.

Asked if the outlook was bright, he said: “I do sense it now. I’ll be totally honest with you, a year or two years ago, I didn’t. That’s being totally honest with you.

“But now seeing the players in the last two weeks, the younger lads, the way they have stepped up to plate in training, they have been absolutely magnificent, so it’s certainly looking good now.”

New York was lashed by rain yesterday leaving Ireland wondering as much about the state as much as the dimensions of the pitch at Yankee Stadium.

However, Keane said with a smile: “You could play Spain in a phone box and they would still keep the ball from you. I don’t think it really matters to them, to be totally honest with you.

“Big pitch, small pitch, it doesn’t really matter, they are going to keep the ball.”

Derby midfielder Jeff Hendrick will make his first start for Ireland in New York.

The 21-year-old will line up alongside James McCarthy in a youthful partnership in a team featuring seven changes from the one which started against the Faroe Islands in Dublin last Friday evening.

Sean St Ledger and skipper Robbie Keane are the only survivors from the Euro 2012 clash between the two countries, which the Spaniards won 4-0 in Gdansk on June 14 last year.

Ireland v Spain: David Forde; Paul McShane, Sean St Ledger, Darren O’Dea, Stephen Kelly; Seamus Coleman, Jeff Hendrick, James McCarthy, Andy Keogh; Robbie Keane (Capt.), Conor Sammon.

Robbie Keane celebrates scoring his third goal against the Faroe Islands. (Pic: PA)

Robbie Keane is already looking towards September’s crucial World Cup qualifiers as he targets a trip to another major tournament.

The 32-year-old Republic of Ireland skipper helped to maintain his country’s bid for a ticket to Brazil next summer with a hat-trick in this morning’s Group C victory over the Faroe Islands at the Aviva Stadium.

That, coupled with Austria’s win over Sweden, left the pair locked together on 11 points behind leaders Germany, although the Swedes will join them on Tuesday if they beat the Faroes in Solna.

It has always looked like a three-way battle for second place, and that means Sweden’s trip to Dublin in September and Ireland’s visit to Austria four days later are likely to have a decisive say in the outcome.

Keane said: “All we have to do now is just concentrate on ourselves and not worry too much about Austria or Sweden.

“We know what we have to do: we have to play those two in September, so those two games are very, very crucial and will probably make or break us.

“These games give you confidence. It’s always good coming into the next qualifier when you have just come off a good win and after getting three points.

“We will certainly look forward to those two games. They are two games that we have to win to stay in contention.

“We have got a good chance, there’s no question. We have got Sweden at home and Austria away, and we are quite capable of going to Austria and getting three points.”

The win extended the Republic’s impressive end-of-season form after a draw in England and last Sunday’s demolition of Georgia.

They have now played eight times since they were humbled 6-1 by the Germans on their own pitch in October last year and lost only once, and that is a source of some encouragement for their captain.

Keane said: “I don’t think anyone had any doubt about it, to be totally honest with you. People forget, we played against probably one of the top three teams in the world in Germany.

“The manner in which we were beaten, it wasn’t good because of the way we set ourselves out and the pride we have, and it wasn’t good enough.

“But the good thing about football is there’s always another game and it’s about bouncing back and not being a baby sitting in a corner and crying about it.

“It’s about standing up for yourself and standing up for the team, and that’s what all the players have done.”

Keane’s evening could hardly have gone any better as he marked his record-breaking 126th appearance for Ireland with a hat-trick which demonstrated his enduring ability to turn up in the right place at the right time.

He struck after five, 55 and 81 minutes to take his tally for the Republic to 59 goals, 10 more than Sir Bobby Charlton managed for England and 38 ahead of the Republic’s second most prolific marksman, Niall Quinn.

Keane has his critics, who suggest he does little else for the team but score, although his importance is illustrated graphically by the statistics.

Fellow strikers Shane Long, Jon Walters, Simon Cox and Conor Sammon have made 87 appearances between them and scored a total of 17 goals.

However, Keane insisted that the result, rather than any personal milestone, was the main focus.

He said: “It was a great occasion, certainly for me and the family, so I am obviously delighted, but the most important thing was about the team and getting the three points, and we did that.”

Keane and his teammates are bound for New York, where they will play Spain in a friendly on Tuesday.

The two sides last met in Poland last summer, when the eventual Euro 2012 champions cruised to a 4-0 victory, and Keane knows it will be a tough assignment.

He said with a smile: “You are playing against a team that you don’t really want to face after a qualifying game, especially after the way they played against us in the Euros.

“It’s a good test for you, it’s a good opportunity for other lads who haven’t been playing because no matter what you say, it’s a tough couple of weeks for players who are not involved.

“It’s important for players to get games and to feel part of the squad and feel involved, so I’m sure it will be a good opportunity for them.”

Galaxy have given Keane permission to play in the international friendly. (Pic: PA)

Skipper Robbie Keane will be able to face England next week after the Los Angeles Galaxy granted him permission to join up with the Republic of Ireland squad.

In Australia, the match can be viewed live on Setanta from 4.45am on Thursday, May 30.

The 32-year-old striker was ruled out of the friendly clashes with Roy Hodgson’s men at Wembley next Wednesday evening and Georgia at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin the following Sunday after the MLS club initially declined to release him for the fixtures, which fall outside the FIFA international window.

However, after further discussions, the FAI has confirmed that Keane will now be able to meet up with his teammates in London.

Keane said: “I would like to thank LA Galaxy for reconsidering their decision, after further conversations between us, which really means a lot to me.

“We have reached an agreement that will enable me to make it to the games and I look forward to playing my part.”

The two games will be used by manager Giovanni Trapattoni to finalise his preparations for the World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands on June 7, which is followed by a trip to New York for a friendly against World and European champions Spain.

Keane is Ireland’s most-capped outfield player, having amassed 123 caps and is the nation’s record international goalscorer with 54.

Robbie Keane will sit out Ireland’s clash against Austria. (Pic: PA)

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni was dealt a major blow when skipper Robbie Keane was forced to withdraw from the squad for the World Cup qualifier against Austria.

The 32-year-old underwent a scan on the calf strain he suffered during Friday’s 0-0 draw in Sweden this morning and the results have confirmed that he will be unable to play on Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning Australian time).

The game is not being televised live in Australia.

Wolves frontman Kevin Doyle, who was informed by text that he had not made the final 23 for the double-header, has been drafted in as a replacement.

A spokesman for the FAI said: “The Football Association of Ireland today confirmed that Robbie Keane has been ruled out of Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Austria in Aviva Stadium.

“A scan this morning confirmed that Robbie is suffering from calf strain after Friday’s game against Sweden. Wolves striker Kevin Doyle has been called up in place of Keane.

“The manager has spoken to Kevin, and he will link up with the squad in time for training in Malahide tomorrow morning.”

Trapattoni had earlier revealed that Keane has gone for a scan, but at the time, was hopeful the LA Galaxy striker, who was in line to win his 124th cap against the Austrians, would make the game.

The 74-year-old Italian now faces something of a selection headache with Jon Walters also struggling with a back injury and Doyle still coming to terms with his initial disappointment.

Trapattoni has been impressed with Derby’s Conor Sammon and has handed Simon Cox key roles in the past, while Wes Hoolahan has impressed in a withdrawn role since being drafted into the squad.

However, the manager he has built his team around 54-goal Keane ever since his arrival and his absence leaves a sizeable hole.

The deserved point with which Trapattoni’s men returned from Stockholm kept them firmly in the race for second place in Group C, although they dropped to fourth place as a result of Austria’s 6-0 demolition of minnows the Faroe Islands.

However, with the Swedes not in action on Tuesday evening, victory over the Austrians would leave the Republic in possession, for the time being at least, of the runners-up spot, and no one within the camp is underestimating the importance of the fixture.

Asked if he would field the same team at the Aviva Stadium as he did at the Friends Arena, Trapattoni said, somewhat coyly: “Ninety-nine per cent, maybe.

“But this game, we must think about all our possibilities. It’s a game we want to win, but also those who don’t start, the one or two or three changes [substitutions] will be very, very important.”

Trapattoni delivered something of a curve ball in the run-up to the Sweden game when he initially named winger Robbie Brady in his team, and then revealed he was not certain he would in fact start, an attempt, he said, to spark a reaction from the Hull midfielder.

In the event, Trapattoni opted for a double change when Glenn Whelan’s ankle injury prevented him from taking part, replacing the Stoke man with the more creative James McCarthy and asking Walters to patrol the right side of midfield instead.

Having already placed himself in the firing line by informing Doyle he would not be in the squad only by text, Trapattoni courted further criticism with his treatment of Brady, but was swift to attempt to clarify his decision today.

He said: “Reporters in the world are good at writing pieces, but I never said he was confused, what I wanted to say was that I wanted to stimulate him psychologically, I want to see him stronger psychologically.

“But I never said– or I didn’t mean to say – that he was confused. The headlines then are a different story.

“There is no problem with Robbie. The player is ready, there is no problem. I know.

“There are situations when a manager wants to stimulate players. I said I wanted to see on the pitch what his condition was. He is not confused.”

There was at least some positive injury news for Trapattoni yesterday when Whelan returned to training, and he is expected to resume against Austria.

The manager went into the game in Stockholm knowing defeat might have signalled an end to his reign amid speculation that former Reading boss Brian McDermott was already being lined up as his replacement, but emerged from it, as he has done so often during his time at the helm to date, having been largely vindicated.

His decision to prefer 33-year-old David Forde to the action-starved Keiren Westwood paid off, as did the selections of Seamus Coleman, Ciarán Clark and Marc Wilson in a new-look defence and Paul Green, James McClean, McCarthy and Walters in midfield.

Trapattoni said: “Our young players, if they are here, it’s because I trust them and I have confidence in them in the first place.

“We need to give them a chance to improve in every game. Every game improves their personality.”

Robbie Keane with four-year-old Isabelle and father Rob Lee, on a Skype call to friends in Sydney. (Pic: Three)

Two Irish emigrants in Sydney got a surprise Skype call from Robbie Keane last week.

Rob Lee won a competition from Irish mobile network Three to meet Robbie Keane.

He brought his four-year-old daughter Isabella along, and the trio Skyped his friends Ciarán and Elaine in Sydney.

In a brief chat, the surprised couple tell the Ireland striker that they’re living in Maroubra in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, while Keane remarks that he has cousins who have recently returned to Ireland from nearby Coogee.

The competition was part of Three’s ‘Bringing Everyone Closer’ campaign.

Watch the exchange in the video below.

Keane in action during the MLS Cup Final at the Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, USA, yesterday. (Pic: PA)

Robbie Keane scored as LA Galaxy bid farewell to a talismanic David Beckham with a win in the MLS Cup Final.

Galaxy came from behind to give David Beckham a winning farewell to his career in the United States with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo.

Calen Carr’s goal shortly before the interval gave the Texas team the lead at California’s Home Depot Center.

However, Omar Gonzalez equalised on the hour and five minutes later captain Landon Donovan converted from the penalty spot, before Robbie Keane wrapped up the win in injury time – also from the spot.

Donovan wasted the best chance of the first 43 minutes, firing wide from 10 yards, before Carr opened the scoring with a right foot shot which beat Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders at his near post.

Galaxy were level 15 minutes into the second half when Gonzalez rose highest to head home from Juninho’s cross.

And five minutes later Beckham’s team were awarded a penalty when Ricardo Clark was penalised for handling a Keane shot.

Captain Donovan, who scored the only goal in last season’s final between these two teams, sent goalkeeper Tally Hall the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Keane came close to scoring 11 minutes from time, before winning a penalty in the final minute when he was fouled by Hall.

The Republic of Ireland striker took the kick himself, beating Hall to wrap up the success and make sure of a winning send-off for Beckham after five years with the Galaxy.

Immediately afterwards Beckham was substituted, leaving the field to rapturous applause.

The 37-year-old former England captain has yet to confirm his next destination, though he has a variety of contract offers, with a number of A-League sides stating their interest in the Englishman.

Robbie Keane is out of the qualifier against Germany after succumbing to an Achilles injury. (File pic)

Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland prepare to enter a brave new world with their manager still extolling the virtues which have characterised his reign to date.

For the first time since Ireland travelled to Turkey in November 1999, they will start a competitive match against Germany without either Shay Given or Damien Duff, who have retired from international football, or Richard Dunne and 54-goal striker Robbie Keane.

Irish football fans Down Under won’t be able to watch the Germany game, as no Australia-based network has picked up the home rights.

As previously reported by the Irish Echo, fans will be able to stream the Faroe Islands game online – at a small cost.

Keane has  joined an injury list which has claimed five members of what is widely considered to be Trapattoni’s strongest team.

In addition – although the 73-year-old was coy on the matter – he appears to be ready to abandon the 4-4-2 formation which served him so well through the early years of his reign, but which has grown increasingly tired more recently.

However, the message to his players ahead of what is a daunting Group C encounter was much the same as it has been for the last four and a half years.

Trapattoni, who is remembered fondly in Germany – and in Bavaria in particular following his time at Bayern Munich – said: “I will be proud if we can win or draw because I have studied particularly what Germany have tried to do, and we must do what we can to contain them.

“They have the quality of [Thomas] Muller, [Mesut] Ozil, [Miroslav] Klose, [Mario] Gomez, [Mario] Gotze, [Lukas] Podolski – unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of player.

“But we have our qualities and with our qualities, we can confront Germany.

“I am proud of this team. We have achieved very important results with our quality, with our attitude. That’s what we can be proud of.”

It felt like something of a watershed moment as Trapattoni announced his team, which did not include the names of any of the quartet of senior men who have been the backbone of Ireland’s team for over a decade.

There could be a significant shift too in terms of system with the manager initially naming his line-up, which included Everton’s Seamus Coleman at right-back for the first time in a competitive game in a 4-3-3 formation.

But he then muddied the waters, saying: “I have not changed the system. I said we can play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. We have to see what happens in the game.

“We can change, 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. I have to be sure that the system is available and that I can change immediately if I need to.

“I can’t wait until we concede a goal. After, it is very difficult. I have to put out a team that can change after 30 minutes if necessary.”

The sensible money is on Trapattoni starting with 4-3-3 after he and assistant Marco Tardelli have spent the last few days talking about the possibility of using a third central midfielder to man-mark Ozil.

But asked if he would try to do that, he said: “I think it’s impossible. I was a player and I marked famous players – Pele, Eusebio, Johan Cruyff – but there are players it is impossible to mark.

“Ozil is a player who is very difficult to mark.”

If Trapattoni does use a three-man midfielder, that would mean fielding just one out-and-out striker, a role which would have been occupied by Keane had he been fit.

That represents another bone of contention for those who believe whatever the 32-year-old’s estimable qualities, they are not best suited to the rigors of battling with robust defenders and holding the ball up to allow reinforcements to arrive.

Either Stoke’s Jon Walters or Nottingham Forest’s Simon Cox will now be asked to take up the baton with the other lining up in a wide position, something the former has done regularly for his club and the latter for his country in the recent past.

Whether or not Trapattoni had come to the conclusion that change was required of his own volition, or whether he had simply been beaten into submission by repeated reminders of his side’s submission to the likes of Russia, Spain and Italy in recent years, was a moot point.

But at the end of a week during which rumours linking him with the vacant manager’s job at Blackburn led to speculation over his continued presence in his current post, the 73-year-old cut a defiant figure.

He said: “In the last three years with Ireland, we are proud of what we have done. Without France, we could have been at the World Cup.

“But now we have changed the team and brought in younger players – this team is very, very young.

“One eye is on the result and one eye is on the ranking. Three years ago, our ranking was far away from where it is now. We have improved.”

Giovanni Trapattoni also distanced himself from the vacant managerial post at Blackburn. (Pic: PA)

Giovanni Trapattoni is sweating on the fitness of skipper Robbie Keane ahead of Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against Germany.

Irish football fans Down Under won’t be able to watch the Germany game, as no Australia-based network has picked up the home rights.

As previously reported by the Irish Echo, fans will be able to stream the Faroe Islands game online – at a small cost.

Keane, who is in line to win his 122nd senior international cap at the Aviva Stadium, sat out training yesterday with an Achilles problem after a challenge by defender Paul McShane on Tuesday.

Assistant boss Marco Tardelli later insisted there was no doubt over Keane’s participation on Friday evening, but Trapattoni will keep his fingers crossed until his captain, who joined up after another gruelling trans-Atlantic flight, is back on the field at the Republic’s Gannon Park training base in Malahide.

Keane has admitted on more than one occasion that he has played despite not being 100 per cent fit for much of his career, and there is little chance of him crying off for such an important game.

Tardelli said: “It’s no problem. For Robbie, it’s just a knock. Yesterday in training, Paul McShane was very hard.

“Robbie decided to stay and rest because it is better. He needs to recover also after his trip.

“It’s just a knock. I spoke with the doctor and he told me everything is okay.”

Keith Andrews too was conspicuous by his absence during the open part of the session, but Tardelli revealed the Bolton midfielder had completed the earlier tactical work and had simply asked to be rested for the game with which training concluded.

He said: “For Andrews, it’s just rest. He did the first part of training, the tactical part of training, and then afterwards asked us if it was possible to stay on the bench. It’s no problem.”

Trapattoni will hope his run of misfortune is at an end having already lost Seán St Ledger, Glenn Whelan, James McClean and Kevin Doyle for the Germany game with experienced defender Richard Dunne still fighting his way back to full fitness.

But Keane’s presence in particular will be key to his plans against the Germans.

The former Tottenham frontman scored his 54th international goal from the penalty spot in Kazakhstan last month and took his season’s tally for the Galaxy to 15 in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Real Salt Lake.

Trapattoni has revealed Keane is likely to play as a lone striker against Joachim Low’s men, a ploy which did not pay off against Spain at this summer’s Euro 2012 finals and which was abandoned at half-time.

However, Tardelli insists that even if Keane is asked to lead the line unaccompanied, he will have support with either Simon Cox or Jon Walters in line to take up one of the wide berths in a five-man midfield.

He said: “We have strikers – we have Robbie Keane, we have Cox or we have Walters.

“I don’t know who will play in the first eleven, but we will certainly have two strikers on the pitch.

“Maybe one striker can play wide with just one up front, but we will have two strikers. Also [winger Aiden] McGeady can score a goal.”

Trapattoni is expected to field three men in central midfield, including one whose job it will be to shackle dangerman Mesut Ozil, and Birmingham’s Keith Fahey looks increasingly likely to be handed that task.

Asked what qualities the chosen man would need, Tardelli replied: “I don’t know if the boss has decided on this situation, but Ozil needs a man who will press him, that’s normal, because he is a good player.

“But for us, it’s very important to play football against Germany because if we play well in midfield, it is possible to retain possession, and that’s important.”

Trapattoni last night called 21-year-old Chelsea midfielder Conor Clifford into the squad in a move which sent yet another message to Norwich playmaker Wes Hoolahan, 30, that he does not figure in the Italian’s long-term plans.

Tardelli was frank when asked about the decision.

He said: “We are looking to the future and Clifford is the future.”

Robbie Keane scored both LA Galaxy's goals.

Robbie Keane celebrated his 32nd birthday by scoring both goals in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 2-0 Major League Soccer win over the Chicago Fire on Sunday, lifting his team into the final play-off spot in the Western Conference.

The Galaxy, without midfielder David Beckham through suspension and with forward Landon Donovan starting on the bench due to a hip injury, headed into the sell-out encounter at Toyota Park on the back of two straight losses and were facing a team unbeaten in four games.

But things soon looked up for the visitors as Keane converted a 22nd-minute penalty following handball by Jalil Anibaba, and then substitute Donovan supplied the pass for the Republic of Ireland captain to put the result beyond doubt 12 minutes from time.

The New York Red Bulls passed up the chance to move top of the Eastern Conference standings as they went down 2-0 to New England at Gillette Stadium.

Lee Nguyen and debutant Jerry Bengtson were the men on target for the Revolution.

Two goals in three first-half minutes from Gabriel Gomez and Freddy Adu set the Philadelphia Union on their way to a 3-0 win over Toronto FC, substitute Antoine Hoppenot adding a third in the 78th minute in a battle between the Eastern Conference’s bottom two teams.

Finally, the Montreal Impact netted twice in the final 13 minutes to snap their three-game losing streak, coming from behind to beat the Columbus Crew 2-1.

Milovan Mirosevic had headed the visitors in front in the 64th minute at Stade Saputo, but Zarek Valentin equalised in the 78th minute and then Patrice Bernier’s 89th-minute penalty completed the turnaround.

Robbie Keane pays tribute to James Nolan, after scoring for LA Galaxy.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane has paid tribute to James Nolan, an Irish fan who drowned in Poland.

James Nolan, 21, from Blessington, Co Wicklow, drowned after falling into a river in the northern city of Bydgoszcz.

He was in the country to support Ireland at Euro 2012.

Mr Nolan’s body was recovered on Wednesday, four days after he went missing.

A post-mortem examination carried out in Poland found no physical injuries and indicated death by drowning.

Keane returned to action for LA Galaxy on Saturday night and after scoring near the half-hour mark he ran to the sideline to hold up a jersey with ‘RIP James Nolan’ printed on the back.

“It was for a young fan who went to Poland, 21 years of age, he drowned. It was very, very sad,” said Keane after the game.

“I called his father today to send my condolences, send my thoughts to him and his family.

“Irish people are very close and stick to each other through good times and bad times. He was a big soccer fan and it was a shame, it was just a bit of respect really. I may give (the) shirt to his father, if he wants it.”

:: Removal in Blessington

Yesterday, crowds lined the streets for the procession of Mr Nolan’s coffin to the Church of Our Lady in Blessington, Co Wicklow.

Friends and strangers wore Irish jerseys in tribute to Mr Nolan, who died while on a trip to Poland to support Ireland in the Euro 2012 competition.

Tricolour bunting and flags hung over the streets as Mr Nolan’s family and friends shouldered the coffin to the church.

His father Jimmy was among those carrying the casket, while his mother Essie followed closely behind.

The funeral Mass will take place at the church at 11am today, Irish time.

With PA