World Cup 2010 - European Play-offs: Rep. of Ireland vs FranceThis is definitely the most interesting match of the World Cup play-offs since high-flying Ireland play host to struggling France. The Irish were unbeaten in the World Cup qualifying campaign and if they can continue their rich vein of form, then anything is possible. France do not look like the team under Raymond Domenech but the individual quality of players is such to make every opponent fear.
The nation believes
Republic of Ireland national team face one of the most important games in their history and the whole nation believes they can eliminate France. The team have made a tremendous progress under experienced Giovanni Trapattoni and they have gone through the World Cup qualifiers unbeaten, having twice drawn with Italy. The biggest qualities of this team are togetherness and fighting spirit, while we cannot really say they lack quality either. The Irish play extremely well at their Croke Park and we doubt they will lose this game to injury-plagued France. Therefore, you should try backing Ireland not to lose at 1.53 offered by Stan James.
As it now seems, Giovanni Trapattoni will be able to field the strongest possible line-up against France. Back-up players Noel Hunt and Caleb Folan are out, with Liam Miller struggling with injury but the most important thing is Damien Duff has recovered and he will be fit to play. He and Aiden McGeady will form a wing partnership, while Doyle and Keane will start up front and with such a great attacking potential, we expect the hosts to score at least once at Croke Park. Sportingbet is paying 1.40 on Ireland to score.
Make or break time for France
Even though they had been tipped as hot favourites to progress from Group 7, France could only win second place in the group behind Serbia after some unconvincing performances under Raymond Domenech. The astrology lover is still leading this side from the bench and as long as that is the case you can expect Les Bleus to lose even against much weaker sides than Ireland. The only good thing is that the players simply have too much quality and not even Domenech can ruin that. With Henry, Anelka, Gignac and Gourcuff in the squad, you should seriously consider backing France to score at 1.33 offered by Sportingbet.
The visitors are missing Franck Ribery and Gael Clichy through injuries, whereas Patrick Vieira is again left out. Lyon left-back Aly Cissokho has been called as a replacement for Clichy but he probably won’t have the chance to shine since nobody can move Evra from the left side of the pitch. Other than these, Raymond Domenech has no other injury worries, thus we are likely to see a 4-2-3-1 formation with Toulalan and Diarra as holding midfielders. Gignac will probably start as a lone striker, with Anelka, Gourcuff and Henry just behind him.
Betting verdict
Even though we expect a very interesting and open game, first half will be different than the rest of the game. During this period both sides will be looking to take control of the game and won’t be too confident going forward. Therefore, our advice is to bet on draw at half-time.
Looking for livestream! Here it is! Our tip: Bet 5 on Draw at 30 minutes
Odds +110 at
Bookmaker: BetCRIS
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