An unbelievable 90 minutes in the domed stadium of Lille saw Ireland spring an upset over the group winners Italy.
Playing with the knowledge that only a win would be good enough to keep their Euro campaign alive, the Irish attacked the favoured Italian side and while they did not create a whole lot, they made it count with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Robbie Brady’s late goal.
Here some of the major talking points to come out of the match:
Lineup changes
As expected both teams made changes to their starting teams with very different motivations in mind. With progression already secured, Italy made rotations after already securing passage to the knockout stages. Eight changes were made from the Sweden game on Friday with Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Alessandro Florenzi the only players to back up.
Ireland on the other hand made changes with the hope of turning around their luck including a new pair of centre backs in Richard Keogh and Shane Duffy. The side’s lone goalscorer Wes Hoolahan was also dropped from midfield along with Glenn Whelan for James McClean and an extra striker in Daryl Murphy in the hope of providing extra support for Shane Long, even though Murphy is yet to score for the national team in 21 appearances.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Ireland on the attack
After going down to Belgium with a relatively defensive approach, the Irish knew they could not afford to sit back and give Italy the impetus. In fact, it was the Italians in a defensive mode who sat deep and looked to hold on as their opponents pressed forward, the apparent desperation of the Irish side forcing them to open up and play with a bit of abandon. The Irish created more chances in the first half than they did in their entire 3-0 loss to Belgium, unfortunately for them it was only half chances.
Conte’s frustration
You would hope that a team of players getting a rare opportunity to feature for their national side would make the most of it, however the Italians looked very lethargic. This did not please their manager Antonio Conte who spent most of the game pacing around his technical area trying to get his team going.
Overall most of the players who came in for this game underwhelmed and hurt their chances of starting against Spain. As the game wore on, the substitutes came in and tried to turn the game back in the Azzuri’s favour. The addition of Lorenzo Insigne almost paid off as he struck the post but it was another substitute who would play a big role in the final result.
A moment of magic
It took 85 minutes and a spurned one-on-one chance by substitute Hoolahan but the Irish finally found a crucial breakthrough. After his attempt was saved, the Norwich City man made amends with a perfectly placed cross which Brady nodded home. It was a deserved goal for Brady who pulled the strings for Ireland for most of the night and you could see his joy at putting his side ahead.
What’s next?
Both sides will be preparing for the knockout phase with Italy up against powerhouse Spain in a rematch of the 2012 final. While some Italian fans may feel hard done by getting the tough side of the draw as group winners, Spain finishing runners up at least suggests that some things are not following the script which is always a good thing.
Ireland have the small matter of facing the hosts France. Infamously, these two sides faced off in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and there was significant controversy when Thierry Henry handled the ball in the buildup to the deciding goal. Ireland will be a tricky task and desperate to avenge that agonising day.
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