What’s happening?
The Republic of Ireland men’s side face Portugal and Armenia in their second tranche of World Cup qualifiers.
Where and when?
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side travel to Lisbon to face Portugal at Estádio José Alvalade on Saturday (kick-off 7.45pm) and then are at home to Armenia at the Aviva Stadium on October 14th (kick-off 7.45pm).
Where can I watch?
Both games will be shown live on RTÉ2. The Irish Times will also have live updates of the games on our website, as well as post-match reports, ratings, reaction and analysis from our team of writers.
Are there tickets available for the game at the Aviva?
Yes, there are still plenty of tickets available on Ticketmaster for the game in Dublin. Prices for adult tickets start at €55, with reduced-rate adult & child and family bundles also available.
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What’s at stake?
A place in next year’s World Cup in North America is on offer for the group topper, while the runners-up from each group go into the playoffs for a chance at capturing one of the four remaining spots at the tournament.
What are the current standings in the group?
In Group F, Portugal sit top of the pile on six points after two wins from their two games (against Armenia and Hungary) so far. Armenia are second on three points, which they secured by virtue of beating Ireland in Yerevan, then it’s Hungary and ourselves on one point apiece following the 2-2 draw last month at the Aviva.
So is all hope lost for Ireland?
Well, it’s not looking peachy.
While it was expected Portugal would take the group’s automatic qualifying spot, Ireland would have felt a place in the playoffs was a reasonable target.
However, a home draw against Hungary didn’t get them off to the best start, and then the 2-1 away defeat to Armenia was nothing short of calamitous.
Of course, that second-place spot isn’t yet beyond Ireland’s reach as a strong end to the campaign (perhaps coupled with favourable results elsewhere) could prove enough, but it would be a remarkable turnaround.
Working against Ireland is that two of their remaining qualifiers are against Portugal, the return leg of Saturday’s fixture coming on November 13th.
Let the optimists among us avert their gaze for a moment, but should Ireland take two Ls from those fixtures (a fair prediction given Roberto Martínez’s side are currently ranked fifth in the world) then Irish hopes hinge on picking up points at home to Armenia on Tuesday and away to Hungary on November 16th, and even that may not be enough.
In contrast, Hungary will twice face Armenia (in addition to their second meetings against Ireland and Portugal) so their opportunities to pick up points may prove more plentiful.
All that being said, there are eight fixtures remaining in Group F, so it’s a bit early yet to go working out exactly what Ireland need to do to get up to second. Suffice to say, picking up a point against Portugal would help tremendously, even purely from a morale point of view, while a full three-point haul against Armenia next week is pretty much a non-negotiable if the boys in green are to have any chance of making the playoffs.
Has the Ireland squad been named?
Yes, Hallgrímsson named a 24-man squad last Friday for the two upcoming fixtures.
Among the absentees are Matt Doherty, Jason Knight and Bosun Lawal, but Séamus Coleman, John Egan and Jayson Molumby make their returns, with Troy Parrott a possibility.
Republic of Ireland squad – Portugal & Armenia
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Everton).
Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), John Egan (HullCity), Ryan Manning (Southampton), Will Ferry (Dundee United).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Will Smallbone (Millwall), Jack Taylor (IpswichTown), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Finn Azaz (Southampton).
Attackers: Evan Ferguson (AS Roma), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United), Festy Ebosele (Istanbul Başakşehir), Kasey McAteer (Ipswich Town).
No match day sides just yet, but we’ll keep you posted when they do land.
