Republic of Ireland goalkeeper David Forde is hoping for a repeat of his international debut when the team play Italy at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The Millwall stopper has fond memories of winning his first senior cap when Ireland beat Italy 2-0 in a friendly in Liege three years ago.

Ireland manager Martin O'Neill handed a debut to Newcastle keeper Rob Elliot in the 2-1 reverse to Turkey in Dublin last Sunday.

O'Neill will be looking for some improvement as his charges continue their preparations for the start of the European Championship qualifiers in September, and Forde is relishing the prospect of returning for a 17th cap against the Italians.

Forde said: "I am certainly looking forward to it. I made my first start for Ireland against Italy away in Liege, so I have a lot of fond memories there.

"If we had another one of those nights, I'd be delighted. It was a bizarre night, it was a fantastic night.

"You know, we are a good underdog and I am sure we will put in a good performance on Saturday."

Forde knows the squad will have to be ready for the first qualifier against Georgia, and he is hopeful Ireland can pick up confidence boosting wins before then.

"It's not nice being beaten and we want to start winning games and turning them around," Forde said.

"The last couple of games now, we have come in and said we should have taken our chances and we should have been comfortable in games where we have left the door open and allowed teams in, and you get punished at this level.

"It's disappointing, but there are still a lot of positives there and the main target and the main aim is Georgia in September."