Ireland fades against better rested France in Euro 2016 exit

Ronaldo was denied matching Michel Platinis record of nine goals in European championship finals by a fine save from Danijel Subasic, but the ball fell kindly to Quaresma to head into an empty net.

Didier Deschamps admitted France had to dig deep to beat Republic of Ireland and progress to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

“They gave the players extra energy if there is such a thing”.

Deschamps said France got better when they shook off the early tension and went “a bit crazy”. We are still going to have to improve.

For the second game this tournament, France were reliant on Antoine Griezmann to get them out of a tight spot.

When asked about his potential retirement after the French reverse, O’Shea opted to focus on celebrating a strong campaign with his team-mates. But right before the break and ten minutes in the second half, the Germans finished the Slovakians who did not have solutions against such a world class armada.

Next Sunday, France will return to Stade de France for a quarterfinal match against either England or Iceland.

Thierry Henry’s handball sent such shockwaves that barely anyone remembers it was actually William Gallas who scored the infamous goal France that ruined Ireland’s chances of a World Cup appearance more than six years ago.

From then on it was largely one-way traffic with Andre-Pierre Gignac hitting the bar and missing a couple of decent opportunities to put the game to bed.

Martin O’Neill (Republic of Ireland manager): “It’s a natural disappointment considering the position we got ourselves into, and you look at the goals we conceded”.

“They’ve got quality players and they have a lot of strength in depth off the bench so we knew they’d come out second half and put us under pressure”, he said.

“That’s why it was a special moment at the end when we were in the corner just showing our appreciation to the fans”.

Duffy said: “I felt like I could play at this level”.

Ireland quickly began to fade, especially after France forward Antoine Griezmann turned the match around by scoring in the 58th and 61st minutes.

“The second half was always going to be tough for us and we just couldn’t keep the door closed for long enough”, Ireland defender Seamus Coleman said.

“We took a lot of belief from the Italy game and I think the Belgium game did well for us in the fact that we realised how poor we were”.

“I’m here for the coach and the team; to play on the left, through the middle, or in the penalty area, but it’s true that being further up the pitch is where I usually play and what I’m used to”.