Italy have been one of the top teams in the tournament so far and need only a single point in their fixture with the Republic of Ireland to capture the competitive Group E. Ireland on the other hand, is all but eliminated.
- The last match these two teams played in 2014 ended in a 0-0 draw.
- Ireland qualified for Euro 2016 after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff.
- Italy was unbeaten in their 10 Euro qualifying matches.
Italy has captured all six points available to them through two games and will attempt to complete the group-stage-sweep Wednesday. Italian head coach Antonio Conte has hinted that Italy will make wholesale changes to their squad in this fixture as they are already guaranteed safe passage to the round of 16 and he wants to experiment.
A couple of things need to happen for Ireland to move on. 1. Ireland needs to beat Italy by at least a few goals to improve their goal differential. 2. Belgium needs to lose to or draw Sweden.
Scenario 1: If Belgium draws Sweden 0-0, Ireland needs to beat Italy 5-0 to advance.
Scenario 2: If Sweden beats Belgium 1-0, Ireland needs to beat Italy 4-0 to advance.
So basically, a bet on Ireland making the group stage of this tournament is the equivalent of burning money.
The moneyline on this one is pretty weird. Online sportsbooks have Italy +135 to win and has the desperate Irish at +225. The Italians only need a draw to win their group and the line for that to happen is currently +215.
