Over the last few years football has not been kind to supporters of Ireland, first there was the playoffs for the 2010 World Cup, where a reshuffle saw the Irish left un-seeded and having to play France for a place in South Africa.
Then there was the match itself in which the Irish played with heart and determination before falling victim to a very controversial goal in extra time as Thierry Henry twice handled the ball in the run up to William Gallas’s finish.
Despite this disappointment the team had more unity and things began to look better than ever, a string of solid performances in the run up to the 2012 European Championships saw Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad qualify for the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine. Lady luck however was not on their side, and it was the same old story as the seeding system played havoc with the draw, the boys in green found themselves placed in a group with Croatia and the winners of the last two World Cups, Italy and Spain.
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Sometimes in football the underdogs can be very dangerous, especially in the knockout stages of a tournament and the Irish fit this bill perfectly, they are a team full of quality, they have a host of premiership players who have won major honours and in their coach they have a tactical genius who knows what it takes to get the right result.
One thing to note is that the Republic of Ireland is unbeaten in their last 14 games and confidence will be high so the 4/1 being offered on them to get out of the group is interesting!
That being said… I’m not denying that the task facing the Irish is a daunting one, but it could a big chance for them to show Europe that they are not just making up the numbers, I really feel that progress is achievable and with the Italians looking more vulnerable than ever it would not be a surprise if they got a result against them, the first hurdle however comes on Sunday, when Ireland meet Croatia in their opening group match, with players such as Luca Modric and Nico Kranjcar the task will not be an easy one and the importance of this game is massive, it really is imperative that they get a win to stand any chance of progressing.
Trapattoni’s troops will be ready and maybe just maybe there luck is changing, we will wait and see.
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Good luck Ireland! They have just tie their match against Croatia. I think they have a lot of chances to go through. Spain and Italy have tied and according to what you say and the football they are playing i guess they will be able to beat either Spain or Italy (I hope not Spain.xD). Second position, at least, is more than achievable!