Russia | VS
| Republic Of Ireland |
| Date/Time: | Sep 6, 2011, 3:00 pm(GMT) |
| Competition: | UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying |
| Live/Repeat: | Live |
| Venue: | Olimpiyskiy stadion Luzhniki (Moskva) |
Russia v Ireland – Euro 2012 Qualification Preview
Tuesday’s Russia v Ireland match will be a do or die affair for Trapattoni’s side who aim to qualify directly for the Euro 2012 tournament to be held in Ukraine and Poland. Ireland see themselves 2 points behind the Russians and even on points with Slovakia and a loss here would take their destiny out of their hands – something that hasn’t bode well for them in the past.
Ireland find themselves in an odd predicament in Group B and face the most important tie in their Euro 2012 qualification campaign
Russia vs Ireland
The Republic of Ireland weren’t at their best against Slovakia, but regardless had several chances to edge out the win but Robbie Keane failed to convert some chances you would expect him to have no trouble with. But it was Slovakia who will feel gutted out of a win, having outplayed the hosts in key stretches of this game.
As it currently stands, both teams gave up a golden chance to top the group and now it is Russia who stands as favorites to advance directly. The lone good news for Ireland is that they have the tiebreaker over Slovakia should the two sides end on even points at the end of the Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
Russia didn’t look spectacular themselves over the weekend with a narrow 1-0 win over Macedonia thanks to a 41st minute goal by Semshov. In the last Republic of Ireland vs Russia match, the Irish looked completely out of it and fell behind 3-0 to the unforgiving Russians. They showed some heart in the second half however coming back with two goals and almost salvaging a draw. With this match in mind, Russia will have the psychological advantage heading into this fixture, but underestimating the visitors is clearly not an option.
