THE GAME IN NUMBERS

1990 – Year when Ireland last qualified for back-to-back major tournaments, getting to Italia 90 after making it to Euro 88

116 – Number of caps John O’Shea, ‘the back-up centre-half’, has won in his international career. O’Shea, Richard Keogh, Shane Long, Stephen Ward and James McCarthy are likely to play tonight, having missed Ireland’s last qualifier against Austria in November. They have 283 caps between them

17 – Number of goals Shane Long has scored for Ireland. Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn, Frank Stapleton, Don Givens, John Aldridge and Tony Cascarino have scored more for Ireland. Southampton striker Long, who made his debut against San Marino 10 years ago last month, needs four goals to draw level with Quinn in second spot.

12 – Wales’ world ranking

7 – Number of goals Gareth Bale scored in Wales’ Euro 2016 qualification campaign. The Real Madrid superstar also scored three of their 10 goals during their run to the semifinals in France and has scored four of their eight goals in this campaign.

6 – Number of goals Joe Allen has scored for Stoke City this season, three more than Glenn Whelan and Jon Walters combined. Midfielder Allen has created 21 chances for his club compared to the 19 Whelan has been credited for, has made 36 more tackles and 30 more interceptions.

5 – Number of times Ireland have beaten Wales in 13 attempts. The Welsh also boast five wins with three matches ending level.

1 – Number of games in this campaign where Ireland have enjoyed more possession than their opponents in a match. They had just 41 per cent of the ball against Serbia and Austria and had 46 per cent of possession against Georgia. They did dominate events against Moldova, though, controlling the ball for 54 per cent of that match.