This doesn’t make for great reading.
After nine qualifier games – five of which were at home, four games against Moldova and Georgia – Ireland have hit 11 goals.
A campaign which began on the crest of a Euros wave back in September 2016 is threatening to wash up tamely on the sort of dull shore that doesn’t even have proper sand – just sore pebbles, moss-covered rocks that weren’t even bothered to grow much from the ground and disgusting swabs of seaweed.
After nine games, Ireland have 11 goals and only seven of their players have hit the net in competitive football during this World Cup qualification run.
Of those seven, only two of them have scored more than one goal.
You have a very generous 60 seconds to name the seven players who’ve scored for Ireland so far in Group D of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
If you’re struggling, here are the results that might help:
- Serbia 2-2 Ireland
- Ireland 1-0 Georgia
- Moldova 1-3 Ireland
- Austria 0-1 Ireland
Remember it all looked so good after that point?
- Ireland 0-0 Wales
- Ireland 1-1 Austria
- Georgia 1-1 Ireland
- Ireland 0-1 Serbia
- Ireland 2-0 Moldova
