Ireland look like they’ll need six points to have any chance of reaching the playoffs.
That means Ireland need to beat Moldova on Friday and then go to Cardiff on Monday and beat Wales.
Those chances have been bolstered considerably with news that Gareth Bale will miss his country’s last two games.
The Real Madrid star picked up another injury on club duty against Espanyol and will now be absent for the crucial last game when Ireland come to town on October 9.
It’s also important to note that Wales will travel to Georgia for their penultimate clash and they now do that without their best and most influential player. Still, Group D are currently bottom of the rankings for best second-placed finishers and therefore, at the moment, wouldn’t be given a spot in the playoffs.
So Ireland should be looking to win both games regardless of Wales’ result in Georgia but that has gotten more realistic with Bale’s injury.
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Perhaps he just got too anxious at the thought of Stephen Ward hunting him down.
