The Republic head into Tuesday night's Euro 2012 play-off second leg clash with Estonia as talks over a first friendly between the sides in Dublin since 1995 continue.

They could meet in May as part of both teams' preparations for the tournament should Ireland join their neighbours in Poland and Ukraine, and Ipswich man Andrews, who scored the opening goal in Friday night's 4-0 rout in Tallinn, would welcome that challenge.

The 31-year-old said: "Absolutely, it would be fantastic. We haven't played England in such a long time.

"They have well and truly qualified for the Euros and it would be nice to pit ourselves against them.

"They had a fantastic result yesterday. We play against them week in, week out in the Premier League, and to play against them would be something I am sure both sets of fans would love."

Asked if he would prefer to play against England at next summer's finals rather than in a friendly, Andrews replied with a smile: "It would be nice, yes, we would settle for a 1-0 win maybe in the group stages if we got them.

"But I am sure it would be a fantastic game if that could be sorted."

Team-mate Stephen Hunt, however, would certainly prefer to face Fabio Capello's men when it matters.

He said: "Listen, if we play against England, I would rather play against them in the tournament than a friendly because let's be honest about it, friendlies are irrelevant.

"It would be nice to beat them, of course. They are our main rivals and they play against Wales and Scotland all the time.

"It would be nice to play against them of course, but I would prefer it at the tournament.

"I go out in every game to play well for my country, but it would be special, if we qualify, to play against Spain in the first game of the tournament, that would be special."

The last time the sides met at Lansdowne Road, the game was abandoned after just 27 minutes because of crowd trouble.

John Delaney, chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that the fixture is a possibility.

He said: "I think there is a real enthusiasm, particularly from the English FA, to have England in Dublin sooner rather than later."