France and Republic of Ireland faced off in a group 16 tie , a fixture which has painful memories for the Irish fans going back to Thierry Henry’s controversial hand ball which saw France qualify for the 2010 World Cup at the expense of Ireland. The game started in a dramatic fashion with Ireland taking a shock early lead before Antoine Griezmann turned the tie around himself with two quickfire goals in the second half. Here are 5 things we learned from France Ireland
1 France got out of Jail
Robbie Brady scored the fastest goal of Euro 2016 slotting home from the spot after Paul Pogba had given away a penalty for a reckless challenge. Ireland looked full of confidence early on and the goal shocked the crowd. They frustrated the French for most of the first half and France will consider themselves really lucky to have scored two quickfire goals which saw them through.
2 Shane Duffy’s Red Card killed Ireland
The game was still wide open at 2-1 for France and Griezmann was on his way for a hat trick after being set up by Giroud , he was found right outside the area by Duffy which resulted in a Red card forcing Martin O’Neill to change his tactics. The game was done and dusted there as Ireland rarely threatened thereafter.
3 Griezmann is now in Zidane’s league
Griezmann scored two goals in quick succession to help his team reach the Quarter Finals. He has now scored 3 goals in the tournament and is now the only French Player since Zinedine Zidane to have scored 3 goals at a European Championship , no wonder top European Clubs are trying to lure him away from Atletico Madrid
4 Ireland should be proud of their performance
Ireland’s Euro 2016 finished with a heartbreak , but still they should be proud of their performance. They progressed from their group against all odds and nearly caused a major upset against the hosts. Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane duly deserve credit for turning things around for Republic of Ireland’s football and we must now expect similar things from this group of players.
5 France now await England or Iceland
France have now set up a potential QF match with England , who are expected to go past Iceland. An England France QF is exactly what this tournament needs.
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