Earning their first qualification to a major tournament ultimately proved nothing more than a pipe dream for a pointless Gibraltar (L5), who are playing for pride alone in European Championship Qualifying (ECQ) Group B. Given their limited selection pool within an approximate 32,500 population, it’s perhaps no surprise that they’ve won just eight of their 81 official games, with a 4-0 defeat against Wales in friendly action on Wednesday adding to their dreadful all-time record (W8, D9, L64).
That record perhaps still glosses over just how bad Gibraltar have been in ECQ matches, with the visitors completing two full cycles before this and losing every single game. During that time, Gibraltar scored just five goals whilst conceding 104, a record which may throw cold water on any hopes of notching a historic first win in this outing that has no tangible relevance to Gibraltar’s final outcome.
That said, this game also means nothing for a deflated Republic of Ireland, who enter this clash with their Euro 2024 dreams already in tatters after losing five of their six ECQ games in this cycle (W1). That’s a shame after Ireland appeared at two of the last three tournaments, but it could mean the writing is on the wall for boss Stephen Kenny, who will remain in charge for the final two games but is out of contract after this campaign.
Kenny’s only win in this cycle did come by a 3-0 scoreline against Gibraltar and one would expect them to double up on that result given the gulf in class. That win actually contributed to them rather curiously posting a H2H record against Gibraltar (W5, GF17, GA0) that is curiously the exact opposite of their hosts’ record in this ECQ cycle (L5, GF0, GA17).
Players to watch: Gibraltar’s evergreen 40-year-old defender Roy Chipolina is one of their only three home ECQ scorers, yet his main concern will be trying to keep out the likes of Ireland’s Evan Ferguson. The Brighton prospect has scored four goals in eight Premier League games this season, three of which came after half-time, and he should have ample opportunity to get on the scoresheet here.
Hot stat: Gibraltar have conceded at least three goals in ten of their last 11 ECQ home games.
