“The game (against Northern Ireland) comes after probably the right amount of time”, said Taylor.
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“I think that’s one of his great qualities and his ball control, he’s very comfortable with the ball at his feet, he’s added that”. It’s been since we were all young boys, playing together.
They finished with three points and a neutral goal difference, an equation that could easily have been much worse had goalkeeper Michael McGovern not produced the performance of a lifetime.
“But if we can match the performance against Russian Federation we have a very good chance”.
Poland has qualified as runner up in Group C after a 1-nil win over Ukraine in Marseille and will face Switzerland for a place in the quarter finals.
– Northern Ireland have not conceded more than one goal in their last 16 internationals.
Bale said with a smile: ‘It is a moral victory for us, bragging rights to finish top.
Germany, helped by their opponents being forced to defend deep in their own half, played the sort of free-flowing football that, if matched by finishing, could be lethal in the knockout phase.
The Northern Irish could well have lost heavily – and with it the chance of qualification – and Mueller acknowledged Germany will need to be more clinical in future rounds.
“We are in no doubt it is going to be a tough game against Wales but we will go into the match believing we can win and that we can progress”. “I know I’ll get opportunities to score in the [Wales] game, it’s up to me if I take them or not”.
“I want to extend my warmest congratulations to the Republic of Ireland team, the coaches, and all those who made this well-deserved success possible”, he said.
“I just needed the occasion and Russian Federation was that”.
A plunging save to keep out a Gomez header during the second half ranked as his finest moment in a stellar body of work for McGovern, who departed with a cherished memento.
“I got [Manuel] Neuer’s jersey after the game”, he revealed. “So that’s nice, obviously he’s a goalkeeper I look up to”.
“He’s been incredible. I can’t speak highly enough of him. I watch games to watch him”.
McGovern was applauded back into the dressing room by his team-mates and is likely to have attracted admirers from elsewhere after his Parisian exploits.
The rest of the continent may not have been aware of the 31-year-old Hamilton stopper prior to this tournament, but Evans remembers a former under-21 colleague who showed promising signs from an early age.
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Bale insists the players are not looking past Saturday’s match but the ambition in the squad is sky high.
