Ireland cried foul when they were belatedly informed that the European play-offs for a World Cup finals place would be seeded. Yesterday they had every reason to bleat again when they were drawn against France, the toughest possible opponents.

Compounding Ireland’s sense of injustice, they will have to play the second leg in Paris on November 18.

A 72,000 sell-out crowd at Croke Park would have provided a fitting climax to their qualifying campaign. Instead, the towering Gaelic sports stadium in Dublin will stage the first leg on November 14.

It was three weeks ago that Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, announced that yesterday’s draw would not be “open”. Conspiracy theorists suggested that the world governing body was desperate to avoid the likes of France and Portugal eliminating each other.

Giovanni Trapattoni, the Ireland manager, and his players had hoped to be paired with Greece, the lowest ranked of the four seeds. Instead, when the draw was made in Zurich by Steven Pienaar, the Everton and South Africa midfield player, they were handed the 1998 world champions and 2006 runners-up.

Perversely, the other seeds — Portugal, Russia and Greece — will have to book their tickets for South Africa the hard way. Home advantage in the second legs has gone to their opponents: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Ukraine respectively.

Trapattoni remained defiant yesterday. Ireland were one of only five countries to retain an unbeaten record in the European qualifying series and since the veteran Italian took charge they have lost twice in 17 matches.

“We have done well so far but, over the 180 minutes, we must give something additional,” Trapattoni said. “We will have to be even more concentrated and focused than we have been up to now.

“We have come out of a group containing the current world champions, Italy, and have got positive results against them [two draws]. Now we face the 2006 World Cup finalists but our results to date will give us the conviction and the belief.

“At this point, it is not about world rankings. It is more like a cup final over two legs. We have demonstrated throughout our qualification campaign that we can perform against any team.”

France are ranked ninth in the world, Ireland 34th, yet France limped through their group behind Serbia and appear to be in a state of constant strife. Their players are reported to look to Thierry Henry, the Barcelona and former Arsenal striker, for leadership, rather than Raymond Domenech, their coach.

“Yes, I am surprised that Domenech is still in a job,” Kevin Moran, the former Ireland and Manchester United defender, said. “The manager’s job is to get the best out of his players and he has not been able to do that. When you look at his teams, world-class players are being left out.”

Domenech said: “We know what we have to do. We know Ireland. They’re very much like England, they all play in the Premier League. The France players know them well from having played either with or against them. We know what’s coming.”

If there was an oath or two exclaimed in Dublin when Pienaar plucked the balls from a bowl, there will have been equal concern in Paris. Such is the organisation and obduracy of Trapattoni’s team — they have drawn nine matches during his reign — that Ireland would not have been a favourite pairing for any of the seeds.

“I know the French were not too enamoured about playing us,” John Delaney, chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, said. “When I saw Gérard Houllier [the French federation’s director of football] beforehand, he said: ‘Nice to see you today, but I don’t want to see you in Dublin.’ ”

Ukraine are fancied to defeat Greece, Russia should see off Slovenia. But with the Ireland-France clash too close to call — the away-goals rule may be required — and Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo perhaps facing a stormy night against Bosnia in Zenica on November 18, Fifa may not find all its “glamour” sides in the finals after all.

The complete draw for the European play-offs:
Republic of Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

The ties will be contested on November 14 and 18.