Ireland
The Republic of Ireland are back competing in the Finals of an International tournament for the first time in 10 years. Whilst they remain outsiders to qualify from Group C, I don't think they will have any fear when up against Spain, Italy and Croatia. Trapattoni's side kick off against Croatia on Sunday night with a win crucial to qualification.

If the Irish don't win this game they will need to beat at least 1 of Italy and Spain and more than likely take a point in the other. I'm not saying it's out of their reach but a win in this fixture could mean just 1 point more is good enough for a quarter final berth.

Ireland qualified second behind Russia winning 6 from 10 but they only lost once to the Russians. This side is a very solid, hard working one that will be hard to beat. Trapattoni's Italian influence will mean two solid banks of four plus Robbie Keane chipping in to protect Given in goal. It is because of this men behind the ball and direct style with it, we may Ireland involved in some tight 1 goal margin games this Summer.

The Irish side is a close unit with with a strong work ethic which makes them hard to break down but with defending coming from the front they may lack support when going forward. 10 of Ireland's last 12 games have been Under 2.50 goals and that's no shock given the setup of this side.

Croatia
Slaven Bilic's Croatian side made hard work getting to these finals after a poor qualifying campaign. The Croats finished second behind Greece and were pushed hard by Israel for second place before eventually winning in Turkey to qualify. Either way, they are here now and like Ireland, a win on Sunday would be huge for their qualification hopes.

Losing to Georgia and Greece in qualifying hardly inspires me to really back Croatia. There are some really good players such as Modric, Jelavic and Srna in the side but I feel they are just missing something which will ultimately cost them qualification into the Quarter Finals.

Still this isn't to say they don't have weapons and they can win this Sunday against an Irish side highly likely to play a caution first strategy early on and possibly opening up later in the second half.

Jelavic will know the Irish back line from his 6 months in England and won't fear them at all. If Srna and Modric can provide the ammunition for him then I expect him to take his chances. A worry is that the Spurs pair of Corluka and Kranjcar who on their day are good players have spent virtually all season on the bench and still find themselves in the Croatian first eleven. If these two can make starts then what does it say about the back up players?

Betting Verdict
I find it interesting that Croatia are favourites in this one. I can't split them, even more so given it's the first game and both won't want to lose. I can only think Croatia are favourites because as mentioned above both really need to win this one before facing the heavyweights Italy and Spain. Therefore, attacking is more in Croatia's nature than Ireland's who prefer to stay compact for the most part.

I'm going to side with Ireland in this one, not outright but in the Asian Market. To get a head start in what seems an equal game of football has swayed me, the +1/2 ball means if Ireland avoid defeat we get paid. The Irish could lose, but I rate them the same chance to win and given there is an Italian manager in charge he may just feel a point here is decent. With the Azzuri all over the place at the moment, maybe this game isn't the decider for the Irish.

Lamps Betting Tip : Republic of Ireland 1-1 Croatia