Republic Of Ireland To Start Well vs Armenia As ‘Life Continues’
Both countries have fallen in Group B where Russia and Slovakia are expected to fight the real fight and still the top two automatic qualifying spots. Ahead of Friday’s Euro 2012 fixture, the Irish are poised to take away all three points from their counterparts. Just as much as football seems to be unpredictable, the Boys in Green won’t attempt to underestimate the Armenians.
However, their mission looks to be far easier than tricky. Republic of Ireland comfortably defeated Paraguay and Algeria earlier in May as they used friendly matches to prepare for the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Yes, the Irish lost to Brazil in March this year, and to Argentina a few weeks ago. But then, comparing the fact that Giovanni Trapattoni’s men fail against titans but usually pull out good results against lower profiled teams, confident fans will be quick to underline one opinion:
If there could be doubts surrounding the Boys in Green’s ability to win Group B, then at least there is much hope that they will kick-off their qualifying campaign on a very good note. Now that’s what will count most if the Irish want to build momentum as they aim to compete in the European Championship for the first time since 1988, and for the third time only in their entire history of football.
Goal difference could play a big role to separate qualified teams from the rest at the end of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Therefore, it will certainly be imperative for Republic of Ireland to take all of their chances and score as many goals as possible against minnows Armenia.
Following their failure to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Irish rued missed opportunities in various matches during their qualification campaign. Dropping points against less seeded teams is unacceptable for the Irish who have a very poor record in international football. Defender John O’Shea explained to the media:
“Yeah, that’s a huge disappointment [to miss out on the 2010 World Cup]… a huge disappointment. You feel that you have missed out on reaching the pinnacle of where international football is. That is definitely a disappointment. But, we are confident that we can do it this time. We will wait and see.”
To wait and see? Well, Coach Giovanni Trapattoni is confident enough in the potential of his players and he is convinced that they have what it takes to reach Euro 2012 – something which is a must for the Boys in Green. He told the press earlier in May:
“I have reminded the players that life goes on, life continues. Now, it is important that they forget the past. We have to remember our performance, and continue on our way because we have another great aim, [to qualify for] the European Championships.
“Our group is a good group. If we continue this way, with this mentality, we believe that we have a good chance. We have this new objective, and we can aspire to that, and look forward to that.”
So Republic of Ireland will affront Armenia on match-day one of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. The Irish will be without the injured Keith Andrews and Damien Duff. However, they are still poised to win… and to win emphatically.
For further details around this fixture, visit the Armenia vs Republic Ireland Live Streaming and TV Schedule page. This Euro 2012 match is scheduled to kick off at 11:00am EST on Friday, September 3.
