Republic of Ireland midfielder Josh Cullen says the squad will take confidence from their performance in the 1-0 defeat away to Portugal last month as they prepare for the return fixture at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday (19:45 GMT).
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side retain hope of claiming second spot in Group F which would see them participate in March’s World Cup play-offs ahead of their meeting with the Portuguese and Sunday’s concluding Group F qualifying match on the road against Hungary.
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They go into the double-header sitting third in Group F, six points behind group leaders Portugal and one behind Hungary.
Ruben Neves’ stoppage-time strike broke Irish hearts in October, while Portugal’s last visit to Dublin in another World Cup qualifier four years ago resulted in a goalless draw between the teams.
“I think we can take a lot of heart from that [display in Portugal last month], a lot of positives from the performance in terms of containing a world-class side until the very end,” said Cullen.
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“But the mindset needs to be that we need to go one better. We need to keep that discipline about us that we need to keep them at bay but show a bit as well in terms of attacking and trying to go forward and give ourselves a chance of winning the game.
“There is also confidence to be taken from the 0-0 draw. The message is clear that we have that belief that we can go and get a result.”
The 29-year-old says he and his teammates will have to be at their very best to secure the performance and the result they need against Portugal.
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“As a group we’re obviously aware of different things that can happen and what we need to keep the hopes of qualifying alive.
“But I think it’s very important as players to focus on the next job in hand and that’s first and foremost Portugal on Thursday night.
“Our main focus is on that at the minute, getting a positive result and see where we are after that.
“We’re going to need to be right at the top of our game, we’re going to need to prepare so well and we believe that we can do it, produce a performance at the very top of what we can provide.”
