18th Jun 2016 | Euro 2016
O'Neill's Nearly Men
Ireland have the oldest squad in the tournament and that makes a difference later in games against opponents who dominate possession.
The Republic of Ireland have already demonstrated that if team spirit and togetherness were decisive then they’s already be storming through Group E.
They could well fly out of the blocks on Saturday as well. We’re backing Ireland to be leading at half-time, before settling for a draw in the end at a massive 20/1 with SkyBet.
The fact of the matter is that other teams have more individual quality, such as Belgium, and weary legs also played a part against Sweden.
The Irish dominated the first half before deservedly taking the lead in the 47th minute. Unfortunately they got tired, Sweden equalised, and in the end O’Neill’s boys were hanging on to some extent.
The Boys in Green have the oldest squad in the tournament with an average age of 29.39. Belgium have one of the youngest - averaging 25.91.
FIFA’s number two ranked side in the world were much better in the second half against Italy - despite the result - and we should expect a similar performance trend here.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 09:10 18th Jun, 2016 but subject to change
