The buzz had been slow to build. But as the disappointment settled over the Croke Park crowd at the final whistle on Saturday night, it seemed the most remarkable thing about the entire qualifying experience has been the way that Ireland's lapsed footballing faithful had in fact allowed themselves to believe again.

That's been the true miracle of Giovanni Trapattoni.

And like those who cling to their faith in an apocalypse, there are still some who dare to hope. As Bogart said in the old movie, "We'll always have Paris."

Unless Ireland find their shooting boots, it might as well be Paris Hilton he was talking about.

Of course it's half-time in a contest the French probably don't fancy. But right now the odds are stacked in their favour. Dare we begin to imagine that Trapattoni might fancy a high stakes showdown? Watch his boot boy-like swagger on match days and you feel it's something that truly motivates him. He relishes a difficult challenge and impossible odds. More importantly, he appears to have imparted a sense of self-belief to his squad.

But as we saw on Saturday night, even Trapattoni can only play the hand he's dealt. The chances were there but, alas and alack, the one fluke goal of the evening went to the French.

Worryingly, in the second half before Nicloas Anelka's deflected shot went in off the upright, France had been controlling the game, keeping the ball, knocking passes around the pitch and testing Shay Given with the occasional shot from distance. As the green shirts knocked the ball back to them time after time and the French rolled forward yet again, it looked ominous.

Ireland were either under the cosh, on the ropes or running on empty, depending on your choice of metaphor.

It was then that the nature of the task on hand began to reveal itself. Hull City, Stoke City, Middlesbrough versus Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea.

Rational analysis would suggest that Ireland wouldn't stand a chance of getting past the star-studded French side. But we've seen upsets before. And sometimes when you have faith you might just create your own good luck.

This school of thought may be beginning to sound suspiciously like Raymond Domenech's star sign and Tarot card philosophy of football. But right now it's the only straw we have to grasp.

So let's look on the bright side.

The French backs looked windy enough whenever Ireland attacked on Saturday. Chances were created and that's a positive sign. This is something that hasn't been lost on the Irish squad.

PANICKING

"Every time the ball went into their box it looked like they were panicking," agrees Richard Dunne. "We are going to have to try to play higher up the field and get a few more set-piece situations and take advantage of them."

It may have been that the French were confused to find the Irish striking partnership of Keane and Doyle running wild, chasing back, playing defensive roles and leaving the strikes to midfielders or backs.

Although expecting Trapattoni to change his cherished "tactica" before Wednesday is like expecting Brian Cowan to announce free money for all in the December budget.

"One-nil is enough to take it to extra-time and maybe penalties," says Trapattoni. "This is a game for calm heads. Okay, take risks in the last few minutes but if we go forward and concede goals, it's finished."

Jack Charlton happily acknowledged that opposition teams knew what to expect from his Ireland side. But he pointed out that it was still difficult for them to play against us.

It's no secret that Trapattoni looks to defend and hopefully sneak a goal from a set-piece. This strategy worked dramatically against Italy in Croke Park. The French side know what's in store and they know it's not pretty. There were signs on Saturday that they weren't happy both with the robust Irish play and with each other.

Ireland's Italian coach and his backroom staff will attempt to exploit whatever weaknesses they feel are in Domenech's side.

If Romania, Serbia and Austria could all score in Paris, then why not Ireland?

"France have conceded many goals away and also at home," insists Trapattoni. "We must think about this situation, this balance, our performance, our mentality and also what they have allowed opponents in the past. They concede goals and like us, they ended in second place in their group. And we think our group was stronger."

Yesterday Trapattoni was bigging up his players and convincing them that, yes, they can still make it to the World Cup finals.

"I have heard opinion from Italy and other countries," he said. "And they said Ireland played a good game against this France team."

Another hopeful sign on Saturday night was the unseemly skirmish after the final whistle. The last time I saw something similar was after Ireland's away leg qualifier against Turkey in Bursa. Unfortunately that night, the 0-0 draw saw Ireland lose out on the away goal rule to Turkey's 1-1 at Lansdowne Road. It was all over bar the shouting.

This time it's different. Ireland, and Richard Dunne and Keith Andrews, have a chance to state their case in footballing terms when the sides meet on Wednesday.

Worries that anger might deflect the players from their primary objective were scotched yesterday when the Blackburn Rovers player said: "We don't really need extras motivation. If we needed any more motivation other than getting to the World Cup there would be something wrong with us. We are hell-bent on getting to this World Cup and it is certainly not over."

When you consider how few clear goal chances France had in Croke Park and how close Ireland came to pulling off a draw, it's hard not to feel that Trapattoni's unlikely heroes are in with a chance on Wednesday.

What does the man himself think?

"I am confident," says Trapattoni with the air of a wiseguy planning a heist.