"There is a feel-good factor about the national team in Ireland. They will get behind their team and it will alleviate the current situation," Houghton told Reuters in an interview.
"The anticipation and the build-up in Ireland is much bigger than what it is in England, where I live now," said the former Liverpool and Aston Villa midfielder, who scored Ireland's first-ever goal at the European finals against England in 1988.
Houghton's header past Peter Shilton gave Ireland a famous 1-0 victory over their fierce rivals.
"We have to remember that Ireland are up against the last two winners of the World Cup in Spain and Italy, so that first game is hugely important. If we don't take something there, we'll struggle," he said.
"I never get tired of talking about those goals but hopefully in the future someone else will come along and do something similar," he said.
"In fairness, I'd have preferred it if Barcelona and Madrid had both qualified for the final," he said.
"Now they've both gone out and the league is all but settled, so the Spain coach will be hoping that some of his players can get some rest before the finals."
"I think Aiden could do it - sometimes he lacks discipline and his final ball is not always great, but he's improved a lot since moving to Russia and gotten stronger.
"This could be the tournament where he shows his potential."
"I'm not sure if he'll make the squad but I think he should go. He could give us that little extr
