O’Neill criticizes Ireland’s ticket allocation for France

Will likely be used off the bench but has a great goalscoring touch and is of course deadly from the penalty spot if it gets that far. The goalless draw with Switzerland in their final group game was a sterile affair, though star player Paul Pogba looked to be finally finding his feet this summer.

Southampton frontman Long, 29, was asked to lead the line in each of Ireland’s three Group E games and has found himself on the wrong end of some rough treatment in the process with referees less than sympathetic to his cause.

France has failed to live up to its pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites. Deschamps does not appear to know his strongest XI and that is a major worry moving into the knockout rounds. We have a lot of respect for the Republic of Ireland. – Wes Hoolahan was involved in both of the Irish’s goals at Euro 2016 so far: goalscorer against Sweden and assist provider against Italy. The former Arsenal and Barcelona striker’s infamous handball in the 2010 World Cup qualifier will definitely stir the emotions of the Irish players, who to be honest don’t really need any extra motivation for this clash. It will probably feel more like an away game now.

“They haven’t been able to hit the target”. Andre-Pierre Gignac will also drop out for Olivier Giroud and Dimitri Payet is reinstated for Kingsley Coman. Assuming Giroud starts through the middle, the Arsenal man must be more clinical against Ireland’s porous defence.

Finding themselves behind for the first time in the tournament, the hosts seemed to lack the urgency to wrestle control of a stop-start first half.

It kicks off at 14:00 (BST) at the Parc Olympique in Lyon. Goalless draws will not be enough from here and relying on late winning goals is a risky attitude to adopt.

Who will win between Ireland and France?

Fans have been scrambling to get their hands on tickets for the big game with some paying well above face value.

I’m glad I didn’t play much on Lille’s pitch, because it was in bad shape. However, what he saw against Italy was that overly aggressive fits in with their attributes better than sitting deep and awaiting the inevitable.

Shane Duffy, Richard Keogh, James McClean and Daryl Murphy were all drafted into the team to impressive effect against the Italians and O’Neill must decide whether to tinker with his starting line-up once more. Put simply, the 47-year-old is a victor.

The Irish have already conceded four goals in France this summer, so Les Bleus can beat O’Neill’s men convincingly if they finally get their act together. Griezmann rediscovering his best form will be key to that.

The manager was also thankful for the period of rest that followed their final group game, admitting that the intensity of tournament football “takes its toll” on his players fitness levels.

Of course he doesn’t have the fundamental brilliance to match up with the French midfield but his manic effort and aggression has epitomised the reason why his side are still in the competition.

It was an unconvincing start to Euro 2016 for France, but they began to show signs that were beginning to get going, although still not looking quite the potential tournament winners that many fancied.