| Bookmakers Not Backing Ireland to Qualify for Tournament Before 2020 |
Ireland made an unflattering exit to the 2012 European Championships last night and bookmakers are already failing to back the Irish to qualify for another major tournament before the 2020 European Championships.Ireland lost 4-0 to Spain after goals from Fernando Torres (2), David Silva and Cesc Fabregas sealed the Irish elimination from this year’s tournament with Ireland having already lost 3-1 to Croatia earlier this week.
The defeat now means that even a win against Italy in their remaining group stage game would not be enough to see the Irish qualify for the Quarter Finals. The manner in which the Irish have wilted at this European Championships has led the bookmakers to doubt the Irish potential to qualify for another major tournament in the coming years.
William Hill is offering 11/8 that Ireland will not qualify for a major tournament before the 2018 World Cup in Qatar. The bookmaker is also offering odds of 7/2 that Ireland will qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and 11/8 that they will be present at the next European Championships in France in 2016. William Hill is offering 7/1 that Ireland will qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
“The Irish side came to Euro 2012 but ultimately, they were always looking to struggle to get out of their group and now, all thoughts must surely turn to qualification for the World Cup in Brazil,” said William Hill’s spokesman Joe Crilly.
The worry for Ireland now is what the future holds. Their current crop of players struggled to make an impact at this year’s tournament and Ireland now faces the prospect of some big players such as Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Shay Given and Richard Dunne all calling it a day regarding their international careers with no real young stars coming through to replace the current roster.
The bookmakers are certainly not backing Ireland to make strong progress over the coming decade. After it took Ireland 10 years to make a major tournament in 2012 after last appearing in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the bookmakers seem adamant that it could well be another 10 years before Ireland are on the main stage again.
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