Northern Ireland hero Michael McGovern says Michael O’Neill’s men have no intention of letting their historic Euro 2016 journey end in the last 16.
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Ahead of the next round, Italy coach Antonio Conte had left eight regular starters out of his lineup, including goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who has been suffering from a fever over the past few days.
It’s no surprise that England are through.
While the teams qualified in very different ways ― Wales striding into the knockout phase as group winners, Northern Ireland squeezing through as the fourth of the four best third-place teams ― both had reason to thank their lucky stars for the serendipity of the draw.
The fairytale finish came after a historic night for Northern Ireland on Tuesday that saw the side clear the group stages for the first time in a major tournament for 30 years.
Robbie Brady’s late header changed the dynamics of the second round draw as Turkey, who had been expected to play Group B winners Wales, were eliminated.
With a population of just 330,000, England’s opponents Iceland are the smallest nation ever to qualify for the tournament.
Brady’s goal was just reward for an inspired performance by the Ireland team, which needed to win to get through to the next round.
Goalscorer Brady said he was “absolutely flabbergasted” by the result.
But perhaps Roy Hodgson’s men should be more anxious about their actual opponents, Iceland, who booked second place in Group F thanks to Arnor Traustason’s dramatic late victor against Austria.
Had the match finished 1-1, England would have faced Portugal in the last 16 instead.
Like many talented young players in Ireland, Hendrick – described as a “quiet lad” by one of his former mentors – was just a trainee when he moved across the sea to England and joined Derby.
Ireland were the better side and were twice left fuming at the match officials as penalty calls went against them in the final five minutes of the half. “It was a very physical match on a barely playable pitch. The tournament has been more than we could have imagined”.
That particular cap came against Scotland, Northern Ireland’s most recent defeat prior to this tournament, and later that summer when first-choice stopper Roy Carroll fell ill before the Romania game and second-choice keeper Alan Mannus was on his honeymoon, McGovern seized his opportunity and took the spot between the sticks.
Despite substantially lower take home income when compared to France and Switzerland, Albania and Romania top the group with seven points each. Manager Leonid Slutsky has offered his resignation.
But Forest team-mate Ward featured in each of Northern Ireland’s group games and will hope to keep his place in the starting line-up. “It will be hard to break them down but we will try our best”.
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“I can’t believe this is really happening, I remember 1994 when Ray Houghton scored, and those were the memories that stuck with me until Robbie scored last night”.
