The Republic of Ireland’s adventure at Euro 2016 has been brought to an end today at the Stade des Lumieres in Lyon. The European Championship’s hosts France kicked them out of the tournament after a 2-1 final score.
Euro 2016 were the first major finals in 30 years for Ireland, so this result is definitely a disappointing one for them, especially considering that they lost three of their four matches in France.
Dominated by the Irish in the first half of the match, France came back from a goal down and managed to seal its passage into the quarter-finals. The second half was totally different for the hosts, as they returned a different team – smarter, braver, better – and were immediately on the offensive.
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann was the man of the game for the French team, as he led the fightback, scoring twice in the second half and turning things around against the Republic of Ireland.
However, that’s not to say Ireland sit back after half-time, they continued to create chances, but it just didn’t happen for them. Moreover, their fans were very positive and supportive throughout the game, booting their morale.
The Irish will head home on Monday and all that’s left to do for them now is set their sights on World Cup qualification in 2018.
