Robbie Keane believes Republic of Ireland can take plenty of positives from the game against Brazil.
Striker vows to learn from mistakes after Brazil loss
Robbie Keane believes Republic of Ireland can take plenty of positives from the game against Brazil.
Giovanni Trapattoni's men went down 2-0 at Emirates Stadium after Robinho added a late effort to Keith Andrews' own goal just before half-time.
Republic competed well for long periods and could have taken an early lead when Kevin Doyle's header was parried away by Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Keane has urged his team-mates to learn from the mistakes they made later in the match but insists there were still a number of pleasing aspects about the performance.
"We dominated the game in the first half, when we knocked the ball around really well," said the Tottenham striker, currently on loan at Celtic.
"We can take a lot of positives from that, but afterwards we perhaps showed them too much respect and let them have the ball.
Experience
"We can learn from that, and it is up to us to work hard. The younger lads coming into the squad can take this experience into the next games now."
The meeting with Brazil was Republic's first game since missing out on a place in the World Cup following a controversial play-off defeat to France.
Keane feels his side are on the right track, although there is still a lingering disappointment about missing out on a spot in South Africa.
"You should go into every game thinking you can win, now matter who you are playing against," he urged.
"We stood up against France and Italy, and have done that in the first half against Brazil.
"It does not matter if you are playing the world champions or anyone else, it is about getting confidence and winning games.
"We are close, but not close enough because we have not achieved what we wanted to in getting to the World Cup.
"It has all been 'what ifs' but when you look at the games, we have stood up against some of the best teams in the world."
Whelan and Doyle
Midfielder Glenn Whelan believes Republic must now put the anguish of the last campaign behind them and look towards Euro 2012.
"It is a big thing now about moving on and we are trying to put the France situation behind us," said the Stoke player.
"We do not want to get in the play-offs again, we want to qualify straight away."
Doyle feels the squad's work ethic will be key to their continued progression under Trapattoni.
He said: "We are very organised, it is a simple thing really because everyone knows their job.
"The manager has had a settled team and he has given us confidence because he has won so many things. When he tells you something, you listen."
