Seven years. F****** hell, move on. “Last night, players and fans together fused in a way that they kept each other going”.
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“It’s a great achievement, because this group that Ireland were in, nobody gave them a chance to get out of it. They were probably the weakest team in there”.
O’Shea, who didn’t feature despite captaining Ireland in both previous group games, watched on as the Boys in Green were frustrated for the majority of the game, but with time ebbing away and hope all but gone Robbie Brady planted a header past Salvatore Sirigu to grab a priceless three points.
“When I think about it, there are definite similarities”.
Fans have been partying in Ireland and France, after we beat Italy 1 – 0, following a late goal.
“There is history there against France”. In answer to a French journalist he said, “we don’t have that mentality”.
The teams played twice in November 2009, the first game France won 1 – 0 and the second ended in a 1 – 1 draw. “We have nobody to fear”.
“We need to learn from what went wrong against Belgium”.
Already, this generation of Irish footballers have staked their claim as a special bunch.
O’Neill joked he had asked Keane to shave his beard before their next hug, and the personal relationship between the two has become a feature of Ireland’s recent success. The only way our selection in this market will lose is it France fail to win in 90 minutes (you’ll get your stakes back if France win by a single goal) so it is our main selection on the match. “And I think our players enjoyed that the other night”.
“The Icelands and ourselves – maybe if later in the competition we’re still in it, you go maybe yeah (it is a surprise), but in terms of getting out of the group and where the teams are now, I don’t think there have been any real surprises or shocks”.
That’s why no one was prepared for what happened after the final whistle at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Or else there is just one more game.
The profile of West Ham forward Dimitri Payet has gone through the roof in his host country, thanks to his goals in the wins over Romania and Albania.
France coach Didier Deschamps has been given food for thought in midfield.
It is, of course, fitting that Keane, whose persona at times seemed to loom over the Irish football team, is involved in this latest chapter.
“I am pretty sure if they are looking at our DVDs over the last few months they will probably see weaknesses in our team.
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It’s a driving force”, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill told mediapersons.
