Martin O’Neill and his Republic of Ireland squad will have plenty of regrets today after a missed opportunity in Warsaw last night.

It was 1-1 after 16 minutes and I was starting to believe we might just get that 2-2 draw we needed to qualify for Euro 2016.

In truth we never looked like winning the game and I think when Shane Long was carried off on a stretcher 10 minutes into the second half Poland would have been glad to see the back of him.

The Tipperary man won the penalty and certainly keeps defenders on their toes with his energy up front so without him Ireland lack pace in attack.

Wes Hoolahan wasn’t deemed fit enough to start after playing his part in the win over Germany last Thursday so he only got 20 minutes to try and produce a moment of magic.

Despite creating very little in terms of attempts on goal you almost always get one chance and it fell to Richard Keogh who is not quite as clinical as Robert Lewandowski.

The Bayern Munich striker scored 13 goals in the qualifying campaign and has 15 in his last six games for club and country. The Poland captain is the star player of the team and it’s his face you see on the outside of the National Stadium in Warsaw.

Just over 57,000 people packed into the ground and provided a red hot atmosphere on a cold night in the Polish capital.

Ireland will be without John O’Shea and Jonathan Walters for the first leg of the playoff next month due to suspension and we’ll have to wait and see how serious Shane Long’s ankle injury is but he left the stadium on crutches and in a protective boot.

The draw will be made next Sunday and there are still a few groups to be decided over the next couple of nights. At the moment Hungary and Denmark are the only other countries definitely in the playoffs with us. Slovenia should secure their playoff spot this evening when they play San Marino.

Some of the other countries that could be in the draw are Croatia, Sweden, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina while Turkey are poised to finish ahead of Holland in their group.

It also looks like Ireland will be unseeded but I think most of us would have taken a playoff at the start of the campaign and a top three finish in group D looked almost impossible after the 1-1 draw with Scotland in June.

The playoffs will be played between the 12th and 17th of November.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane knows it’s a chance that doesn’t come around too often: