Euro 2016 – Three Key Talking Points – Italy vs Republic of...

Euro 2016 – Three Key Talking Points – Italy vs Republic of Ireland

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In the final game of the group stage, Ireland and Italy will meet for the eighth time in a competitive match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Four years ago they faced-off in the group stage and the Italians came away as 2-0 victors. Ireland’s lone victory against the Azzuri came in 1994 during the World Cup with a 1-0 triumph in New Jersey. Despite both teams sitting at opposite ends of the table, there is still plenty to play for.

What is on the Line?

While Ireland’s 3-0 loss to Belgium on the weekend shattered their campaign, there is still a glimmer of hope for them to advance thanks to the new format of the competition. To have any hope of progression they first need to beat Italy and get themselves to four points. Attaining second spot is unlikely, as that will come from the Sweden-Belgium game, so their hope of progression will be as one of the four best ranked third place teams. At the time of writing they will overtake Albania with a victory and they would have a good chance of getting by at least one other side. In the words of Lloyd Christmas, “so you’re telling me there’s a chance?!”

For Italy the equation is much more straightforward, get any points out of the game and they will be guaranteed of top spot in the group. Having won their two outings so far and coming up against the weakest team in the group, a win is a reasonable assumption to make. If they do finish on top they will play the runner up in Group D in the round of 16. Their most likely opponent will be Croatia, maybe Spain and an outside shot of it being the Czech Republic, if results fall the right way and John Terry performs a rain dance lasting exactly one minute and seven seconds. If they lose and Belgium win while turning around two scores in the goal difference column, they would finish second and play the winner of Group F, which at the moment is Hungary – but also could be Portugal if they win this morning [AEST].

How Can Ireland Bounce Back?

After putting up a valiant effort to secure a draw with Sweden and get to halftime with Belgium at 0-0, things fell apart in the second-half as the opposition exerted their superiority and scored three times. The question now becomes whether or not the Irish can rally themselves for one more game with a chance of progression after the recent collapse. The team will likely see some changes as they look to shore up their backline and provide more support up front to Shane Long, who has cut a lonely, frustrated figure in the last two games. At the very least James McCarthy and Ciaran Clark will be dropped according to the local press, as they were at fault in some way for the goals they conceded. Jonathan Walters will be an interesting person to follow as he tries to get fit enough to play and he could provide a real impact if he can find his way onto the pitch.

What Lineup will the Italians Go With?

Based on the comments coming from the Italian camp, they know how important this game is to keep the momentum going into the knockout round and to finish the group with a full nine points. That being said, manager Antonio Conte will likely rest some of his key players for fatigue or disciplinary reasons to make sure that they do not miss knockout games through a yellow card accumulation. Even if they do opt for a team of backups, they are still a team that could probably make a decent impact on the tournament on their own.

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