Paddy Power has revealed that almost three-quarters of Irish punters are supporting France and hoping they knock England out of the World Cup tomorrow night.
With the huge World Cup quarter-final clash taking place on Saturday evening, Paddy Power has revealed that as of Friday morning, 74% of Irish punters have backed France to beat England.
Despite the fractious history between Ireland and France, which stems from Thierry Henry's infamous Hand of God moment at the Stade de France over a decade ago, the vast majority of Irish punters would prefer to see our nearest EU partners defeat our closest neighbours.
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A spokesperson for Paddy Power said “Thierry Henry and his hand may have broken our hearts back in 2009 but it would appear all is forgiven as Irish punters weigh in behind the French to do the business.
"The contrast between punters on both sides of the Irish Sea couldn’t be more stark and it’s fair to say that the vast majority of Irish football fans will be hoping the French to put an end to the “It’s Coming Home” talk tomorrow evening.”
In news that will surprise precisely nobody, English punters appear to be very confident of getting the better of the French. Despite facing the fearsome Kylian Mbappe, 62% of UK customers believe that Gareth Southgate's Three Lions will progress to a second successive World Cup semi-final.
Interestingly, England’s odds of advancing to the next round have shortened from 13/8 to 6/5 due to the strong backing from their fans with the French odds stretching over the same period from 4/6 to 5/6.
Meanwhile, France are 29/20 to win the game in 90 minutes with England available at 19/10 and the draw at 21/10. Unsurprisingly, Kylian Mpabbé is the joint 5/1 favourite for first goalscorer alongside Harry Kane while France’s all-time top-scorer Olivier Giroud is available at 13/2.
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