Can Ireland reach the Euro finals

When you log on to almost any sports gambling website, the first page will nearly always display the football matches due to be played in the near future. If proof were needed that gambling on football is the most popular form of sports gambling in Ireland and the UK then the fact that almost all the major online bookmakers lead with football gambling options should be sufficient evidence. It is also clear that the English Premier League probably has the biggest worldwide audience and is therefore also the prime object of football gambling. This weekend has of course seen no Premier League matches because of the International break, with European countries including both Irish teams competing to qualify for next year’s European Championships. Irish football fans have therefore had the opportunity to concentrate their football gambling activities on these qualifying games, and although it is unlikely that many  fans following the Republic of Ireland bothered to place bets on the result of Friday’s match with Andorra, next Tuesday sees the final group game at home against Armenia. This match will of course decide the fate of both teams with regard to qualification for the finals, and Irish football fans will be hoping that their team can justify their favourites status with the bookmakers and progress on to the finals, preferably  without the need to get involved with the play-off matches between the bottom eight second placed teams. Northern Ireland on the other hand have again failed to qualify, but they still have one match to play in group C, and although this unfortunately sees them away to runaway group winners Italy, there are good odds available if you believe they can pull off a shock result.