John O'Shea has said that the Republic of Ireland's defensive record stands them in good stead ahead of hosting world champions Germany in Thursday's penultimate Euro 2016 qualifier in Dublin.
With five goals, Martin O'Neill's troops have conceded fewer than any other side in Group D, a fact which the Sunderland defender is particularly proud of.
"Defensively, we've been quite strong in the group, apart from the set-piece in Scotland," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
"To let in the least amount of goals in a group this tough says something about us. It's a tight group which started off slowly for Germany, hopefully it'll go back that way too."
Third in the standings with a four-point cushion, the Irish will clinch a playoff berth if fourth-placed Scotland lose at home to Poland.
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Germany
Hungary
Scotland
Switzerland
Albania
Croatia
Italy
Spain
Denmark
England
Serbia
Slovenia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Belgium
Romania
Slovakia
Ukraine
Czech Republic
Georgia
Portugal
Turkey