Having once again been one of his countries standout performers during a recent victory away in Moldova, Norwich City’s Wes Hoolahan has targeted another appearance at a major tournament, having wetted his appetite at Euro 2016 in France. The Republic of Ireland came out 3-1 winners against minnows Moldova, and having made it to the last 16 over the summer, the experienced midfielder is determined to guide his team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Despite his advancing years, 34-year-old Hoolahan shows no signs of his skills diminishing, and has been one of the stars in guiding Martin O’Neill’s side to an unbeaten start from their first three matches in Group D. In fact, O’Neill’s men sit second in the group, on the same amount of points as leaders Serbia, with two wins and a draw from their opening encounters. Despite being written off by many when the draw was made, with difficult opponents such as Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales, as well as Austria and Serbia, their positive start to the campaign has seen their odds in the football betting markets drop substantially.

The Republic face a difficult trip to Austria up next in November, however the experience within the squad is certainly proving beneficial so far, with the likes of Hoolahan, John Walters and John O’Shea all leading from the front. Stoke City’s Walters believes that a lack of big name players within the squad makes them a stronger unit, and has backed his team to continue to surprise many during the rest of the campaign. For those of you looking to back the Republic to go all the way, you can bet on an Irish sports betting site today!

A goal from Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale was not enough to secure all three points for Wales this week, after Chris Coleman’s men conceded a second half equaliser against Georgia. Although it is still early days, just one win from three for the Euro 2016 overachievers is certainly not the start that they had in mind, and will be looking to make amends against Serbia next time around, where they are the favourites in the football betting odds to claim victory.

The performances of Everton’s Seamus Coleman have been yet another positive for management duo O’Neill and Roy Keane, with the full back scoring the crucial winning goal against Georgia recently. With O’Shea on the peripheries of the starting eleven, and with legendary figure Robbie Keane having retired last month, Coleman has taken on the responsibility of the captaincy, with the 28-year-old from Killybegs now offered favourable football betting odds to lead his team all the way to Russia.