Having suffered a thrashing in their opening game against Croatia, things do not get any easier for the Republic of Ireland as they get set to take on European champions Spain on Thursday (Spain 1/4, draw 9/2, Republic of Ireland 14/1 – Match Betting).
The Republic of Ireland, who admittedly have nothing to lose at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, had a rude awakening when they went down 4-1 in the opening Group C game against their Croats.
It was not a happy return to the competition which the Irish supporters had waited 24 years to feature in since their last outing at the Euros.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni’s men were well below their dogged best and the ability to keep teams at bay, which had seen them go 14 games without defeat, simply was not there in their opener on Sunday.
LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane (9/1 – First Goalscorer) has come in for plenty of criticism for his performance against Croatia, as so much responsibility rests on his shoulders and he failed to deliver last weekend.
However, the 31-year-old forward still has that ability to pop up with a big goal and the Spanish defence should not take the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur striker lightly at the PGE Arena in Gdansk.
As for the defending world and European champions, they failed to get off to the perfect start in their encounter with Italy (11/1 – Euro 2012 Outright) but by no means was it a disaster for Vicente del Bosque and his men.
Spain were a goal behind against the Azzurri and showed good character to come back into the game thanks to a strike from Barcelona playmaker Cesc Fabregas (6/1 – First Goalscorer).
The title holders look like they are missing the goals of David Villa, who was ruled out of the tournament through injury, and someone will need to step forward and take on that responsibility to bag the goals throughout the competition if they are to be the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments.
Having got through that tricky clash with Italy, Spain (3/1 – Euro 2012 Outright) will now feel confident of getting a result against both the Irish and Croatia in their remaining Group C games.
Like most games the battle in Gdansk will be won and lost in midfield and the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and David Silva are set to overwhelm any Irish effort.
An early exit for the Republic certainly looks to be on the cards and with the quality and the relentless passing play the Spanish bring the table, Trapattoni and his men could well be on the wrong end of another heavy defeat on Thursday night.
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Republic of Ireland head to Tallinn this week for the first leg of their Euro 2012 play-off against Estonia, but Giovanni Trapattoni’s preparations have been far from smooth (Estonia 13/8, draw 11/5, Republic of Ireland 11/8 – 90 Minutes).
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