The Republic of Ireland found themselves in a tough section in qualifying for the 1972 European championships. They started the campaign with a home draw against Sweden which was followed up by a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Malmo against the Swede’s. Everything went from bad to worse for the Irish; a 3-0 thrashing in Rome against Italy was followed up by a 2-1 defeat in Dublin against the Italians. Their two matches against Austria proved to be a debacle for Eire, suffering a 4-1 defeat in Dublin before being condemned right at the bottom of the section with a 6-0 defeat in Linz against the Austrians. The Irish played a string of friendlies out of Europe and improved their form, earning wins against Iran, Chile and Ecuador. The Republic of Ireland were in a small qualification group for the 1974 world cup finals, with France and the Soviet Union. They finished it off with one win, a draw and two defeats, the latter both coming against the Soviets. They defeated Poland 1-0 in a friendly match played at Dublin in October 1973. The 1976 European championship qualifiers started off brilliantly for the Republic of Ireland as they cruised to a 3-0 home win against the Soviet Union in October 1974. A creditable 1-1 draw in Izmir against Turkey was followed by a fine 2-1 win against Switzerland in Dublin. After going top of the table, the Irish surrendered their position with back to back defeats against Switzerland and the Soviet Union as qualification now became beyond them although they finished the campaign off with a fine 4-0 win against Turkey. The Irish side included Don Givens, Steve Heighway, David O’Leary and Frank Stapleton.