Trapattoni believes Ireland can still qualify despite Austria draw

The Ireland manager remains confident that his team can have a successful qualification campaign, despite David Alaba's late equalizer at the Aviva Stadium

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni believes that his side can still reach the World Cup in Brazil next summer despite letting two points slip against Austria in Dublin.

Speaking after the game, the Italian was somewhat downbeat about the result, and felt his team had done enough to win.

"I think we had a good match, but the draw is enough," Trapattoni told RTE. "I think we did not deserve to lose, and we had a good chance to win. Long hit the post, also the deadballs [were good chances]."

Explaining how Ireland conceded the late goal, Trapattoni said that his team had faded physically after a strong first-half showing.

"We were tired in midfield," Trapattoni said. "I changed to have Paul Green in midfield. Shane Long was running, running, running, he was tired.

"We needed the midfield in the last 20 minutes. We needed in these 20 minutes someone to press."

However, despite the result, the Italian tactician believes that Ireland is still in contention to reach the playoffs.

"We are in same situation, it is also possible after the draw with Sweden. At the moment, the table is very open. We are in a good position, there is no difference in the table," he added.