Gibraltar host the Republic of Ireland at the Estadio Algarve on Monday for matchday eight of the UEFA Euro Qualifiers. Both sides desperately need a win in order to put up any kind of fight for qualification.
Gibraltar currently sit rock bottom of Group B after five games. With zero wins and five losses, Gibraltar have zero points to their name, three points behind the next closest and nine points from the last qualification spot.
In their last games in all competitions, Gibraltar have five losses. On matchday three, Gibraltar hosted France. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in the third minute, followed by a Kylian Mbappe penalty and an own goal from Aymen Mouelhi gave France the dominant 3 - 0 win. The next game also served up a 3 - 0 loss for Gibraltar. Michael Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Isah all scored in the second half to give Ireland the 3 - 0 win.
Gibraltar faced Malta in an international friendly amidst all the Qualifiers. Joseph Mbong scored the only goal of the game as Malta grabbed a 1 - 0 win over Gibraltar. Back in the Qualifiers was another loss for Gibraltar, this time against Greece. Braces from Konstantinos Mavropanos and Giorgos Masouras and a goal from Dimitrios Pelkas gave Greece the 5 - 0 win with Gibraltar not even registering a shot.
The last time out for Gibraltar was a friendly against Wales. Ben Davies and Nathan Broadhead scored as well as a brace for Kieffer Moore in a 4 - 0 win for Wales.
The Republic of Ireland aren’t faring much better, sitting fourth in Group B. With one win and five losses in five games, Ireland have just three points so far, six points behind the Netherlands and nine points behind Greece.
In their last five games in all competitions, Ireland have one win and four losses. A penalty from Anastasios Bakasetas opened the scoring for Greece, but Nathan Collins equalised before halftime. However, a goal from Masouras gave Greece the 2 - 1 win over Ireland who finished the game with ten men after Matt Doherty was sent off in extra time. Next up with the 3 - 0 win over Gibraltar, with Jonston, Ferguson and Idah all scoring.
Ireland then travelled to France to face Les Bleus. Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram both scored in the 2 - 0 win over Ireland who could only manage six shots. Ireland did put up a better fight against the Netherlands. Idah opened the scoring with his penalty in the fourth minute, but a penalty from Cody Gakpo just 15 minutes later and a goal from Wout Weghorst gave the Netherlands the 2 - 1 win.
The most recent outing for Ireland was against Greece. Giorgos Giakoumakis and Masouras both scored in the first half with Greece holding onto this lead as they won 2 - 0, despite Ireland having more of the possession and more shots.
Gibraltar and the Republic of Ireland have met five times in their histories, with one side having complete dominance. Ireland have won all five games, scoring 17 goals in comparison to Gibraltar’s zero wins and zero goals.