Having enjoyed a rest day it was back to work for the Republic of Ireland squad on Wednesday, but the memories of the Stade de France were still fresh.
For 70 minutes it looked like Ireland might claim their first win at the European Championships since Ray Houghton put the ball in the English net 28 years ago, only for a Ciaran Clark own goal to earn Sweden a 1-1 draw.
After training at Stade de Montbauron, where Ireland stepped up their preparations for Saturday’s Group E meeting with Belgium in Bordeaux, O’Neill reflected on the atmosphere on Monday night.
“The players when they went out to warm up they said they never experienced anything like it, the atmosphere, the welcome that they got from the fans in the stadium at that time. And not everyone was in at that time. It was just fantastic. Absolutely fantastic,” said O’Neill, who described the fans as “phenomenal”.
“You don’t want to preempt things but you look at the Swedish fans and the Irish fans mixing together, seemingly having a wonderful time.
“While we’re trying to do battle on the pitch. The scenes in the stadium are absolutely fantastic and something I’ll not forget myself.”
