Come on Ireland 🇮🇪

The time has come once again. The Republic of Ireland soccer team begin their quest to reach the Euros. Yes, we call it soccer, as we have our own version of football, called Gaelic Football, but that's another story. Back to soccer. The promising thing for Ireland is that there will be 24 teams competing in Germany in 2024.

Can the boys in green return to the competition they did so well in back in Stuttgard in 1988 all those years ago, when they narrowly misses out on a place in the semifinals. They were a mere 8 minutes away from that glory, only for Kieft to spoil the Irish dream in a 0-1 defeat to Netherlands, who then went on to win the tournament. Ireland could be very proud of their performance however beating England 1-0 and holding the Soviet Union to a 1-1 draw. This is how the those groups finished:

All of this talk of qualifying got me thinking about these famous songs!

Famous Irish Soccer songs

It wouldn't be qualifying for a major soccer tournament, if we didn't have a song for it, so in true Irish style here are a few of those songs, the first is a classic by Irish legend Christy Moore and charts the adventures of a group of Irish fans who travelled to Stuttgard for Ireland's escapades in 1988. The other two are songs about Ireland's qualification for the 1990 world cup.

These were the first ever major tournaments Ireland qualified for and I have such fond childhood memories of those innocent days.

Back to Euro 24

Now after that little history lesson, let's have a look what's in store for Ireland to qualify for Euro 2024. We may have to get used to looking at France sitting on top of the table, as they got their campaign off to a blistering start with a Swashbuckling 4-0 hammering of Netherlands. Now bear in mind that's a team anchored in defence by Liverpool's Van Dyke and Man City's Ake, so not a bad side at all.

Still though, I feel that it will suit Ireland being underdogs and they won't fear the French at the Aviva tonight. They will look to carry out a game plan which will involve trying to retain as much possession as possible, which will be tricky against the French. I fully expect this to start at a high intensity and if Ireland can bring their commitment and desire to the pitch and play to their absolute maximum potential, they could just squeeze something out of the game. My heart says 1-1, but my brain says 3-1 to France.

I do think we'll score a goal, as Evan Ferguson and Mikey Johnson have great talent in the forward areas of the pitch. The thing is we may need to score more than one to get anything out of this match.

Will Smallbone

Will Smallbone has been involved with Irish soccer since U18 level and had taken a while to get his chance at senior level. The 23 year old did everything he could to impress Irish gaffer Kenny in an all action display against Latvia last week. He deservedly won the man of the match award and may well make an appearance of the bench tonight.

How They Line Up

No prizes for picking the better team on paper,but what Ireland lack in talent, they will make up for with passion and attitude and if they can give France a game, the crowd could really play their part.

Thanks as always for stopping by everyone.

Peace Out