The Irish fans have been starved of tournament football for a decade and win, lose or draw, they will be in full voice this summer to lift their heroes in Poland and Ukraine.

And the Irish are not without hope of making it through to the knock-out stage of the competition as they will begin their campaign with a 14-match unbeaten record (Ireland 7/2 To Qualify).

They have also kept 11 clean sheets in that sequence of results and, while goals might be at a premium, opposition teams will find it hard to break down a tough defence.

Shay Given’s recovery from injury is certainly a bonus and it is likely that the Aston Villa keeper will be busy against Croatia and throughout the three group matches.

He will need protection from his back four and much will depend on the experience of Richard Dunne and John O’Shea, with Sean St Ledger and Stephen Ward tipped to start.

Ward has been making all the right noises in the build-up to the Croatia clash and has spoken about how tight their defence has become but they will need to score a goal or two to win and, in Robbie Keane (6/1 First Goalscorer), Giovanni Trapattoni has one of the top marksmen to call upon.

His record at international level is phenomenal and the only question mark surrounds his decision to play in the USA and whether or not he will be as sharp as the European-based marksmen.

Kevin Doyle looks set to partner the former Spurs man up front and he will be more of a provider than a prolific hit-man but would love to add to his 10 international goals.

The midfield will be key to Ireland’s chances as they will be up against talented Croatian schemers, including Spurs’ star Luca Modric.

With the men in green expected to concede the majority of possession to the opposition, the likes of Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan will have a lot of defensive work to do in support of the back four and the tournament will be a real test of their fitness and stamina.

Duff will need to be at the top of his game to create chances for the front two and Trapattoni will be hoping he can rediscover the form that made him one of the most sought-after players in the Premier League just a few years ago.

Although Croatia are not the side they were a few years back, they still have enough talent to cause Ireland problems and, in Modric, have one of the best players in Europe.

He pulls the strings for the Balkan state and will need to remain fit and be at the top of his game if Croatia are to reach the last eight.

But Modric is not the only familiar face to British fans as there are several Croatians who ply their trade in the Premier League.

Everton fans know all about Nikica Jelavic (5/1 First/Last Goalscorer), who has been a revelation for the Toffees after arriving in January.

He will be a goal threat on Sunday (Jelavic 9/4 To Score Anytime) and will need to be watched such is his form and prowess in front of goal.

There are concerns over the Croatia defence, however, with Jo Simunic not at his best as he has not been playing regular football.

Former Spurs’ stopper Vedran Corluka, Gordon Schildenfeld and Ivan Strinic look set to complete the back four and there is every chance that Ireland’s front two could profit against these players with decent service.

Another Tottenham old boy, Niko Kranjcar, will be a threat and has the experience of nearly 70 caps to draw on for this clash and beyond.

Captain Darijo Srna has been a regular on the right flank for almost a decade, and is one of the most influential players in the side.

Slaven Bilic has opted to use him on the right side of midfield as opposed to in defence and he will be a constant menace to the Ireland full backs.

A record of 19 strikes in 90 games proves that he is a goal threat and he will need to be marshalled well if the Irish are to win this one.

This has all the makings of a tight game as Ireland will give little away in defence and Croatia may struggle to break them down but both sides may need to win to qualify.

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Ireland were one of the seeded sides when the draw was made in Krakow earlier on Thursday, but could have been handed more testing opposition in the shape of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey or Montenegro, who finished runners up to England in their qualification group.

However, the draw was kind as they were handed a winnable tie against the small Baltic nation, who have never played at a major tournament and reached their first ever qualification play-off courtesy of second spot in Group C – a massive 10 points behind winners Italy.

Trapattoni, who watched his side make their sixth play-offs after a narrow 2-1 win against Armenia on Tuesday secured second spot behind Russia in Group B, paid full respect to Estonia but must feel confident that he will lead the Irish to their first European Championships since Germany in 1988 (4/11 To Qualify).

Focusing on being drawn away in the first leg, which will be played on November 11 or 12 ahead of the home leg at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on November 15, the Italian said: “It is extremely positive for Ireland that we will play the first leg away.

“We should not underestimate our opposition, or any team, including Estonia.

“To have made it through to the play-off, they must have quality and mental fortitude.”

Tarmo Ruutli’s Estonia (2/1 To Qualify) appeared overjoyed to just reach the play-offs so will not be expecting much from the two games.

However, following two wins against Northern Ireland during the group qualification programme, they could stun the Irish if complacency creeps into Trapattoni’s squad.

Ireland will be hit by the loss of star striker Kevin Doyle for at least the first leg of the play-offs following his red card against Armenia on Tuesday.

However, former striker John Aldridge is in no doubt that Shane Long will step into his shoes and help fire Ireland through what he feels is “the easiest draw” they could have got.

“Shane Long has done really well when he has deputised for either Robbie (Keane) or Kevin so it’s a great opportunity for him,” he said.

History is also on Ireland’s side ahead of the games as they defeated Estonia 2-0 home and away during qualification for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

Looking at the rest of the draw, it easy to see why pulling Estonia out of the hat is deemed as a good thing for the Republic.

Croatia (4/6 To Qualify) were drawn out to face Turkey (11/10) with an away-day first leg, the Czech Republic will take on Montenegro, who held England to two draws in qualifying, while Portugal (2/5) were paired up against Bosnia-Herzegovina (7/4) in arguably the tastiest of the four head-to-heads.

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