Republic of Ireland vs France Predictions

• France have won their last three away European Championship qualifiers to nil.
• There have been under 2.5 goals in Ireland’s last eight European Championship qualifiers.
• France have been leading at half-time in five of their last six wins.

A long night for Ireland

Ireland began the international break with a narrow 3-2 victory over Latvia, although they’re in for a much tougher test as they welcome the 2022 World Cup finalists France to the Aviva Stadium. The hosts haven’t defeated the French since way back in 1981, so anything other than another loss would come as a huge surprise.

The Irish have conceded at least twice in each of their last three home internationals, so they’ll need to have their shooting boots ready if they are to come out on top of a ding-dong affair against the irresistible French force.

France demolished the Netherlands by a 4-0 scoreline in their opening qualifier and will be hoping for a similarly dominant result against the boys in green. However, they curiously have never won a meeting with Ireland by more than a two-goal margin!

Stick with the French

France have actually failed to win each of their last three away internationals but given the rampant nature of their win last time out, this could be the end of that slight wobble for one of the most dangerous sides in world football.

Despite the apparent solidity of Ireland and the fact they often play out low-scoring games, we’re siding with France to win this by a -1 handicap busting scoreline. However, we’re being conservative in the correct score market by going for a workmanlike 2-0 victory for Les Bleus.