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World Cup qualifier betting for France v Republic of Ireland
Daniel McDonnell / 17 November 2009 Free Bet View Market
"If the hosts get their tails up and take an early lead then it's game over and it could get nasty for the visitors. Yet the one candle which Irish fans have been holding is the manner in which they have performed on their travels under Trapattoni."
In truth, they need a dramatic stumble - a last fence fall, in racing parlance - from superior opposition to fulfil their dream of making next summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.
After pushing the boat out to bring in a €2 million a year manager in the form of Giovanni Trapattoni, the FAI desperately need that gamble to pay off by collecting the lucrative rewards that come with qualification. However, they didn't account for the twist of fate delivered by FIFA's decision to seed the playoff draw for second placed teams. Since then, their hopes looked forlorn and after last Saturday's first leg defeat in Croke Park it's looking extremely grim. Pardon the oft used cliché, but Ireland need a miracle.
How can they achieve it? Firstly, they must start well at the Stade de France. If the hosts get their tails up and take an early lead then it's game over and it could get nasty for the visitors.
Yet the one candle which Irish fans have been holding is the manner in which they have performed on their travels under Trapattoni.
The French spent the build up to the first meeting speaking of how afraid they were of Croke Park and referring to the Irish spirit that is traditionally encountered in Dublin.
Yet the reality of this campaign is that the Italian's teams have produced insipid displays on their own turf, while looking far more assured on their travels. Many put forward the argument that Trap's chosen system is suited to counter attack, thus explaining the relative anomaly.
Draws in Bulgaria and Italy provided evidence of an Irish team capable of defending in numbers yet attacking when necessary. That's got to be the key for this game.
Chasing a one goal deficit, Ireland cannot afford to chase the match from the outset. Realistically, they need to try and frustrate the French early on and hope that the Parisien crowd gets a little bit tetchy and piles pressure onto Raymond Domenech's side who still have their doubters despite having one foot in the door.
Don't be surprised if Ireland succeed in keeping that end of the bargain. It's conceivable they could keep things scoreless until the interval.
Alas, it's hard to be optimistic about Ireland's ability to seal the deal. Sadly, while this defence can remain organised for the majority of the game, they are prone to sloppy errors. Indeed, they have only kept two clean sheets in competitive games under Trapattoni - at home to Cyprus and Montenegro with the latter game a complete dead rubber.
With Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry roaming to their heart's content and quality like Florent Malouda and Karim Benzema on the bench in case of emergency, this task could prove a bridge too far for Trapattoni's side even if they are capable of scoring themselves. The damage may already have been done.
Best Bets
France 1 Ireland 1 @ [8.2]
Half Time Score - 0-0 @ [2.8]
Draw/Draw Half Time/Full Time @ [6.2]
First Scorer: Yoann Gourcuff @ [8.4]
First Scorer: Richard Dunne @ [26.0]
