“We came against a team with world class players and stifled them for majority of the game”.
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And with those two on top form and Joe Allen, Ben Davies and James Chester also excelling there should be only one victor in Paris – as long Wales don’t let the occasion get to them like they did against England. I wasn’t looking forward to this game, I knew it was going to be a tough one.
Frustration started to settle in for the manager and players alike as Wales tried their best to run the clock down in order to preserve the historic 1-0 victory in the Parc des Princes.
The two British sides are appearing in the finals of a European Championships for the first time and Wales, who topped their group ahead of England, go through to face Belgium or Hungary.
McAuley was close to tears as he said: ‘I’m just gutted everyone has to go home. It’s going to be “what do we do after this”. “Northern Ireland were the underdogs today, but they were the better team and that is football”. But I think we need a little bit more of that – and I think we can have a bit more of that. Wales and Northern Ireland have done incredibly well to get to the Euro 2016 last 16, but now both teams have got an opportunity to get through to the quarterfinal.
“Either game, no matter who we play, will be hard”. Nothern Ireland played defensively but were a match for their rivals for much of the 90 minutes.
“We didn’t really play well at all and that wasn’t our fault”, Coleman said.
O’Neill, who berated fourth official Felix Brych at the final whistle, said: ‘The (Wales) dugout told Williams to sit down on the pitch and the referee stopped the game. Coleman said he was aware that the country’s progress had created a reaction that was “off the chart” back at home, and the manager had a message for the fans.
Thousands of Wales and Northern Ireland supporters are cheering their teams in Paris in the Euro 2016 last-16 meeting. He’s quick, strong, good in the air – his technique is fantastic and he’s always someone you’ve got to be wary of the whole game.
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Northern Ireland: McGovern; Hughes, Cathcart, McAuley, J.Evans; C. Evans, Davis, Norwood; Ward, Dallas, Washington. “But the team as a whole worked incredibly well and we spoke before the game about moving the ball, making them exhausted and ultimately they would make mistakes”.
