Robbie Brady rekindled memories of 1994 when he headed the Republic of Ireland into a dramatic 1-0 victory over Italy last night to book a dream Euro 2016 showdown with the hosts.
Advertisement
Conte made eight changes from the side that beat Sweden, with Italy already confirmed as group winners going into the final game.
“We will concentrate on us for now but they are not a team to be taken lightly”.
And while he was the hero on Wednesday night, it hasn’t always been that way for Brady who was once just another awestruck teenager at Manchester United, upon arriving at Old Trafford aged 16 in 2008.
However, he also pointed out that the 24-team format and its associated draw means that the victor of their match will play Germany, if the 2014 world champions come through their last 16 game against Slovakia, as expected.
“There are a lot of teams with individuals who play for themselves, but when you’ve got teams like Iceland and Ireland who have a collective group and stick together, they try to aim to do the right thing”.
“Contrary to what I hear people saying, they also improved a great deal in terms of possession and ball-handling”.
“I don’t think we have anything to fear and I think we can go as far as we allow ourselves in this tournament”. It’s a game that we will look forward to – we must look forward to the game, but not just look forward to it, actually believe that you can compete and win the game.
Hungary, appearing in a major tournament for the first time in 30 years, topped the group with seven points thanks in large part to their captain Balazs Dzsudzsak, who scored two deflected goals.
He added: “We knew it would be win or bust”. Hendrick sent a 20-meter shot just wide and Daryl Murphy saw his header off a corner from Robbie Brady saved by goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu. We played some phenomenal stuff.
“It is nice to see some younger players coming through, feeling as if they belong”, O’Neill said.
However in the build-up to Gallas’ goal, Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball twice much to the dismay of the Irish, whose request to Federation Internationale de Football Association to have the game replayed was rejected.
Iconic Spanish midfielder Xavi says “Italy-Spain should have been a semi-final or final” and praises Antonio Conte’s philosophy.
The Canniers winger missed a great one-on-one chance minutes earlier but is on hand this time to set up Brady who becomes only the 5th player to score at a European Championships for his country.
Advertisement
“Croatia are a good team but the odds are 50-50 and whoever plays the best match will go through”.
