One of those is Croatia – a team which just loves playing in France, where it finished third at the 1998 World Cup. They didn’t even field veteran star goalie Gianluigi Buffon.
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Great European nights at Celtic Park flashed into Martin O’Neill’s mind as he watched the Republic of Ireland beat Italy 1-0. Now Turkey has to go home.
They defeated host nation Spain on their way to the quarter-finals and having seen off the Italians, the Republic boss is hoping for a repeat 34 years on.
The Real Madrid man has had a mixed tournament – throwing a reporter’s microphone in the lake just hours before scoring twice in the 3-3 draw with Hungary. “You have to be calm and patient and keep going forwards until you get the result you want”. England and France will also be set to match up after previously meeting at the group stages of Euro 2004 and 2012.
After Wednesday’s game he cried tears of joy and later clutched a slice of pizza and a bottle of beer as he stood in the mixed zone at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and bathed in the glory of one of his country’s finest victories. So two footballing cultures are clashing. “The pitch did punish us a bit more than them”.
Italy, which was already assured of top spot in Group E after two straight group wins, will meet defending champion Spain next in what is potentially the most mouth-watering match of the round of 16. I guess I’m a patriot.
“It looked as if we should have had a penalty – it was pretty clear-cut – but it doesn’t matter now”. But in this European Championships nothing is clear. Robbie is a really good player, a lot of quality.
Currently, the France’s national team remains unbeaten in this Championship. To do it that way is up there with some of the best moments in Irish football history. They have the team chemistry, camaraderie and individual brilliance in Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic, required to win a tournament of this magnitude. Simply waiting for a stroke of genius from Ronaldo is simply not enough, even if an outcome in this insane tournament can not be predicted.
Both sides have significantly played down the re-match. “The players are doing everything that they have to do”. But their opponents Ireland, despite all the euphoria, will be the rank outsiders. People seem surprised by Iceland, but if you do your homework on Iceland, it’s no surprise. Nobody foresaw them reaching the Round of 16. I f he plays in the middle of the park, he’ll be able to do that too.
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“We’ve been playing together for years, we don’t just do our job well but we give security to our teammates around us”.
