The Sunday night feast of football begins with Ireland playing France in the Euro Round of 16. France are heavy favourites but the Irish will not be pushovers, acquitting themselves much better than they did four years ago.
This one is payback for Henry
The last time these two nations met, it was November 2009 in Saint-Denis. Everyone remembers the Thierry Henry handball in extra time which led to William Gallas breaking the deadlock and Irish hearts. As these sides prepare to meet once again, the question becomes how much will that night factor into the motivation for this game? Plenty of key players from seven years ago have gone, including the man at the centre of the controversy. Much of the anger from that night was not directed at France as a whole, as they handled it about as well as could be expected, rather directly at Henry who did not do the “sporting thing”. While it makes for some good discussion on computer screens, chances are that when the players are out on the pitch they will forget about Saint-Denis and instead focus on the job at hand.
How much has Ireland got left in the tank?
Having qualified for the Round of 16 in dramatic circumstances with a late winner by Robbie Brady, the first question becomes how will Ireland handle backing up three and a half days later. After the final whistle blew the crowd in green erupted into euphoric celebration but the players have to limit their joy as they had to get ready for this game. Like their other games they face an opponent that, on paper, outclasses them and it will take significant discipline to ensure that they show they belong at this level. As they were tipped to lose each of their three group games, they are in bonus territory now and will be able to play with even more attacking freedom. Of course, they will not be able to go all out as France certainly have the quality to pick them off on the counter if that is the way the game plays out.
How much pressure is on France?
No pressure whatsoever, they are just playing the continental championship on home soil, with some of the best individual players in the tournament and have the expectation of winning. Not only that, they face an Irish side that they are heavy favourites against. The key playmakers of Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and even Olivier Giroud will need to be ruthless against the Irish by making their chances count. If the game gets into the second half without a goal, the French might just start to feel the pressure of the locals getting on their back.
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