Republic of Ireland vs Belgium Prediction & Betting Tips

The Republic of Ireland welcome Belgium to Aviva Stadium this Saturday in an international friendly. Belgium looks to prepare for the European Championships, whereas Ireland will be aiming to get some good wins under their belt.

• Belgium to win @ -105 With FanDuel
• Both Teams to Score No @ -110 With FanDuel
• Over 1.5 goals @-290 With FanDuel

These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

A disappointing qualifying campaign means there is nothing for Ireland to prepare for, but they’ll be looking to strengthen the cohesion in the squad before they aim for World Cup qualification. Belgium, however, will be looking to gather some good momentum before the European Championships.

The qualifiers for the 2024 European Championships saw Ireland drawn into Group B along with the likes of World Cup Finalists France, the Netherlands, Greece and Gibraltar. In eight games, Ireland could only manage two wins and six losses, leaving them on six points and 12 points from qualification.

This is the last round of friendlies before the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers where Ireland will be looking to make their first World Cup appearance since the 2002 World Cup. In fact, Ireland have only competed at the World Cup three times in their histories, with the furthest they’ve made it being the Quarter-finals in 1990.

Belgium, on the other hand, finished top of Group F in the European Qualifiers. Group F saw The Red Devils take on Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Estonia. In eight games, Belgium picked up six wins and two draws, finishing unbeaten, just one point ahead of Austria.

The last tournament outing for Belgium was a disappointing display at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Red Devils were drawn into Group F along with Morocco, Croatia and Canada. In three games, Belgium won once, drew once and lost once and crashed out in the group stage.

Ireland and Belgium have met 16 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming in an international friendly all the way back in 1928. Belgium have the slightly better record in the fixture with six wins in comparison to Ireland’s four wins. In fact, a draw is more common than an Ireland win, happening on six occasions.

The last five games in this fixture have seen three draws and two Belgium wins. Ireland haven’t beaten The Red Devils since a 3 - 2 win in a friendly back in 1966. However, both teams are usually on the scoresheet, with both teams scoring in three of the last five games.

Republic Ireland Team News

Stephen Kenny has made a big call in his squad for these friendlies. The familiar faces of Caoimhin Kelleher, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah return but are joined by Sammie Szmodics, given the call up after an impressive scoring record in League One this season.

Belgium Team News

Domenico Tedesco will have a slightly different looking Belgium from here on out. Eden Hazard, long time talisman for Belgium, announced his retirement from international football and Kevin De Bruyne will be unavailable. However, Premier League talents like Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans will be back along with Romelu Lukaku.

In their last five games in all competitions, the Republic of Ireland have one win, one draw and three losses.

The European Qualifiers saw Ireland host the Netherlands in September. Ireland took a shock early lead in the fourth minute as Adah converted his penalty. However, a penalty from Cody Gakpo saw The Oranje level at halftime and a second half goal from Wout Weghorst secured a 2 - 1 win for the Netherlands.

The visit from Greece saw Ireland register more shots and more of the possession, but first half goals from Giorgos Giakoumakis and Giorgos Masouras were enough to bag a 2 - 0 win for Greece.

Ireland picked up a win against bottom of the table Gibraltar. Ferguson opened the scoring in the eighth minute for Ireland and Michael Johnston doubled the lead before halftime. Matt Doherty and Callum Robinson joined them on the scoresheet in the second half to grab a 4 - 0 win for Ireland.

However, the trip to the Johan Cruyff Arena saw the Netherlands bring Ireland back down. Weghorst scored again against Ireland, this time in the 11th minute with the only goal of the game to give the Netherlands the 1 - 0 win.

The last time out for Ireland was against New Zealand in an international friendly. Idah gave Ireland the 1 - 0 lead at halftime, but a goal from Matthew Garbett just before the hour mark forced a 1 - 1 draw.

In their last five games in all competitions, Belgium have five wins.

The trip to Dalga Arena saw Yannick Carrasco score the only goal of the game in the 38th minute to give Belgium the 1 - 0 win over Azerbaijan.

The scoring started early for The Red Devils against Estonia. Jan Vertonghen gave Belgium the lead in the fourth minute and Trossard doubled the lead before the 20 minute mark to make it 2 - 0 at halftime. A brace from Lukaku and a goal from Charles De Ketelaere in the second half secured the 5 - 0 win for Belgium.

Dodi Lukebakio’s first goal gave Belgium the 1 - 0 lead at halftime and another for Lukebakio and a goal from Lukaku extended the lead to 3 - 0 just before the hour. Konrad Laimer got Austria on the scoresheet and following the red card to Amadou Onana, a penalty from Marcel Sabitzer brought it back to 3 - 2. However, Belgium held off Austria with ten men for the 3 - 2 win.

In an international friendly Belgium hosted Serbia. Carrasco was on the scoresheet again, this time in the second minute to give Belgium the 1 - 0 win.

The most recent outing for Belgium saw them take on Azerbaijan again. Azerbaijan were down to ten men early on with the red card to Eddy Pascual in the 24th minute. Lukaku then bagged four goals in the first half and was joined on the scoresheet late on by Trossard for a 5 - 0 win.

Despite this being a somewhat weakened Belgium side, Ireland are unlikely to pose much of a threat. In fact, Ireland are unlikely to find the back of the net at all. Republic of Ireland 0-2 Belgium

Republic of Ireland vs Belgium will be available to watch on the Peacock Network (An NBC live-streaming Platform)