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Republic of Ireland vs Sweden: Betting Preview

Republic of Ireland vs Sweden: Betting Preview

We preview the Republic of Ireland's opening game against Sweden.

Joshua Jones

Joshua Jones

Four years after conceding 9 goals and picking up 0 points in their 3 games at Euro 2012, Ireland are back to try and prove they are there for more than just being whipping boys. The Green Army qualified by beating Bosnia 3-1 on aggregate in a play-off after finishing 3rd in a group led by Germany and Poland, whilst Sweden also qualified through a play-off; beating Denmark 4-3 over two legs.

Ireland, to be fair to them, had shown promising signs in qualifying. They were unbeaten at the Aviva Stadium, including a 1-0 victory over the World Champions, and conceded the least amount of goals in their group. Sweden, on the other hand, were sub-par in qualifying. They finished 3rd behind Austria and Russia, failing to beat either of them, and were essentially carried by Zlatan Ibrahimovic through their play-off against Denmark; with the former PSG man scoring three of their four goals.

Zlatan has already proved himself to be crucial for the Swedes. He's their all-time top scorer on 62 goals in 113 games and is 3 goals behind Michel Platini's all-time Euros record of 9 goals. He'll be motivated to get the goals in what could be his last European Championships (at 34 he isn't getting any younger) so take the 29/20 available on him to score anytime and become the first player ever to score at four Euros as our value bet for this one.

Longshot: Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score in the first half at 9/2

Zlatan
Zlatan


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