We continue our coverage of next month’s Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine by looking at another of the contenders for Group C. This time round, it’s the turn of the Republic of Ireland:
Giovanni Trapattoni’s men kick off their campaign with a showdown against Croatia on Sunday June 10 at 7.45pm. After that fixture, Ireland’s schedule toughens considerably, with a clash against defending champions Spain four days later on Thursday June 14 – again this gets underway at 7.45pm, before another late evening clash with Italy on Monday June 18.
It’s fair to say they are up against it. Ireland will be hopeful of a result against Croatia, with Slaven Bilic’s men only qualifying after a play-off win against Turkey. Spain won all of their eight matches in a five-team group and are deserved favourites, while Italy also topped their group, after winning eight of their 10 games and conceding a mere two goals in the process.
The Road to Qualification
Trapattoni’s side finished a couple of points behind Russia in their qualifying group, with six wins and one loss over their ten matches. Ireland scored two or more goals in six of their ten group games, finding the net a total of 15 times, while at the back, they impressed with just seven goals conceded and five clean sheets returned. A straightforward play-off against Estonia saw them cruise through 5-1 on aggregate.
Most Appearances: McGeady & Whelan (12), Keane & Given (11), Dunne (10)
Top Scorers: Keane (7), Doyle & McGeady (2)
Top Assists: McGeady (3)
The Likely Lads
While Trapattoni’s tactics will ensure Ireland offer a stubborn resistance over their three group games, it’s difficult to back their Fantasy assets with any real confidence.Shay Given can expect to be one of his side’s busiest players and if clean sheets prove elusive, the Villa keeper is likely to be called into action time and again. Priced at 4.5, he offers a cheap route into the Ireland backline and has the comfort of save points to fall back on if the going gets tough, particularly in those final two games against Spain and Italy.
Richard Dunne is also likely to be just as influential in the heart of defence. The centre-half is a little more expensive than his team mate with a 5.0 price tag attached, but his resilience should see Dunne rack up plenty clearances and tackles at the back with Ireland likely to be on the back foot for much of their matches – the recovered ball rule should see him benefit as a result.
Priced at 7.0 in the McDonalds game, Robbie Keane hasn’t been the most popular of picks with just 3% ownership thus far. Bearing in mind his fixtures, it’s more than understandable but Keane’s seven goals in qualifying highlights just how vital a figure he is up front for Trapattoni’s side. With spot-kick duties also in his locker, it’s highly likely that if anyone can fire Ireland to glory, it has to be the LA Galaxy man.
Cheeky Punt
Keith Andrews offers Fantasy managers a cut-price midfield option with starts looking guaranteed. Coming in at 4.0, the West Brom man is by far the most popular Irish asset, with over 13% acquiring his services. Andrews grabbed a goal in the 4-0 play-off win against Estonia and also took a couple of free-kicks in that game – with an assist in the recent friendly draw against Denmark, he offers more going forward than the vast majority of similarly priced options across the game.
While Damien Duff has the majority of corner kicks, it was Aiden McGeady who proved to be Ireland’s most creative player over the qualifying period, providing three assists from out wide. The 5.5 priced midfielder is undoubtedly a risk – he’s owned by just 4% of Fantasy managers but, in addition to notching a couple of goals during qualifying, he is one of only two players to have appeared in every qualifying match under Trapattoni.
Further Analysis
Group A Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia
Group B Denmark, Gemany, Holland, Portugal
Group C Croatia, Italy
11 years, 11 months ago5-0 Ireland. Keane, Cox, Keane, Long, Walters. Not over yet.