Sports Blog 24/06/2016: UEFA Euro 2016 – Wales vs Northern Ireland + France vs Republic of Ireland, Saturday 25th to Sunday 26th June 2016

Following an often stodgy group stage the Euro 2016 knockouts kicks off the weekend, with Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland all getting in all the action.

Already the tournament gets another dose of home nation glory, as Wales and Northern Ireland face off in Paris on Saturday afternoon. A thumping 3-0 victory over Russia, combined with England’s inability to score against Slovakia, saw Wales finish top of Group B, a remarkable achievement in the country’s first ever appearance at a European Championship. Northern Ireland’s win over Ukraine, meanwhile, was enough to secure their passage to the knockouts as one of the best ranked 3rd place sides despite their losses to Poland and Germany.



As he has been throughout the competition so far Gareth Bale, who has scored in each of Wales’ games so far, will be the focus on Saturday, and heads into the last 16 at a Super Mega PGM of 39-45 For Michael O’Neill and his countrymen they desperately need to find a new source of goals, or at the very least hope Kyle Lafferty (at 12-16) re-finds his qualifying form in time for the weekend. In terms of the result Chris Coleman and co. should just above edge it, Spreadex offering a Wales/Northern Ireland Goal Supremacy spread of 0.4-0.6 alongside a Total Goal spread of 1.9-2.1.

Sunday afternoon then sees Republic of Ireland rewarded for their hard work with a match against France in Lyon. A thrillingly late goal from Robbie Brady gave the Irish a must-need win over a half-hearted Italy, meaning they, like their Northern siblings, qualified for the last 16 through the 3rd place rankings. The hosts, on the other hand, veritably breezed through Group A, Dmitri Payet-led victories over Romania and Albania followed by a 0-0 draw against neighbours Switzerland.



Like Northern Ireland Martin O’Neill’s side have struggled for goals this tournament, with none for Shane Long, Jon Walters or Robbie Keane. France have had similar issues, with Antoine Griezmann especially failing to live up to his pre-Euros, post-La Liga season hype. Nevertheless the wealth of talent in the host’s squad looks like it will be too much for the Irish, with our traders offering France/Republic of Ireland Goal Supremacy spread of 1.1-1.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.05-2.25.

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