27th May 2012 | Euro 2012
Republic of Ireland Euro 2012 Odds
Rank outsiders after being drawn in the same group as Spain, Italy and Croatia. But Trapattoni will have the Irish well-drilled.
Republic of Ireland
Fifa Ranking: 18
Qualifying campaign: W6 D3 L1 (excludes play-off)
Average points per game: 2.1
Average goals scored: 1.5
Average goals conceded: 0.7
Summary:
Tough to beat first and foremost, with the steely combination of Shay Given, Richard Dunne and an Italian boss always making them hard to break down. The exception to that came in qualifying at home to Russia; the visitors raced into a 3-0 lead before hanging on to a 3-2 victory.
But that was Ireland’s only defeat of the campaign and they went to Estonia and won emphatically 4-0 in the play-offs. Robbie Keane remains the talisman after seven goals in qualifying. Trapattoni will field a team capable of ruffling some feathers.
Prediction:
The Irish kept eight clean sheets in a row in 2011. Tough as their task looks, they must be a bargain at 12/5 (WilliamHill) to concede under four goals in the group stages.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 20:11 27th May, 2012 but subject to change
