A for Group A – The way the tournament was structured, hosts France were always going to have a full week’s rest, compared to the 72 hours enjoyed by their eventual opponents Ireland. The tiredness was telling in the second half of the round of 16 clash.
B for Brady – This goal will be played on highlight reels for decades to come. Not a bad penalty either.
C for Coleman – Wore the captain’s armband proudly and looks nailed on to lead the Republic out for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
D for Darren – Randolph may not be starting for West Ham but he didn’t look anything resembling rusty. Some great saves throughout the tournament, a ridiculous couple of statistics and a wonderful Cruyff turn to top things off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=aWD681Me46o
E for Group E – The odds were stacked against them to progress but the Republic of Ireland stood up when it counted against Italy and made it out of a European Championship group stage for the first time in their history.
F for fans – By the time the Euro 2016 final rolls around, the Republic of Ireland’s round of 16 elimination will be long forgotten but the Irish supporters in France never will be. They sang lullabies to babies, they’ve endeared themselves to the police and they made best friends with a man simply standing on a balcony.
G for goals – The Republic scored three goals at a European Championships for the first time ever, one more their tally at Euro ’88 and two more than their Euro 2012 total.
H for Hendrick – Has surely secured himself a move to a Premier League side after some stellar performances in midfield. Was unlucky not to get a goal and was arguably Ireland’s best player of the tournament.
I for Italy – OK, they had nothing to really play for but they’re still a European giant and they were felled by the late leap of Robbie Brady.
J for Jon Walters – He was badly missed against Belgium, looked amazing in the group opener against Sweden despite being unfit and came up with the best gag of the European Championships.
https://twitter.com/JonWalters19/status/743544610509717504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
K for Keano – It wouldn’t be an Ireland press conference if Roy Keane didn’t put the fear of God into people.
Latest from #IRL camp at #EURO2016 @TV3ireland‘s Paul Walsh goes toe-to-toe with Roy Keane
Only one winner!#COYBIGhttps://t.co/CYCK9ZlPux— TV3 SPORT (@TV3SportIreland) June 11, 2016
L for learning curve – In spite of their elimination, there is an undeniable air of positivity around the Ireland camp. They leave France with the knowledge that there is no need to have too much respect for some of the elite European sides.
M for McClean – He may be liable to a rash challenge but, sometimes, games just cry out for the intensity he brings to the pitch.
If ever a 90 minutes cried out for James McClean https://t.co/mrPEP1Ya2S
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 24, 2016
N for noise – Outnumbered by a ratio of 10:1 in the Stade de Lyon but you couldn’t tell by the sheer volume of the crowd once Robbie Brady converted his early penalty.
How sweet it is #IRLFRA pic.twitter.com/f58xShfwDu
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 26, 2016
O for O’Neill’s magic – Fans called for his head when he left Wes Hoolahan on the bench for the Italy game… he was hailed as a genius when the Norwich midfielder came on as an impact sub and sent a perfectly weighted ball into the box for Brady’s late header.
P for penalties – After being denied stonewall spot-kicks against Belgium and Italy, the referee finally pointed to the spot against France but it’s difficult not to wonder how the Republic of Ireland would have fared against Belgium if they’d opened the scoring with a penalty.
Q for quick start – Bookmakers actually thought Ireland were more likely than not to fail to score a goal against heavy favourites France. How that changed with a lung-busting opening against Les Bleus.
R for Romelu Lukaku – The bastard
S for Shane Long – A true warrior, Long’s body will be hurting more than most as he was kicked from pillar to post throughout the competition. He was brought in to break offside traps and get in behind with his pace but he ended up being an absolute soldier, getting stuck in and throwing himself about.
T for taking one for the team – Shane Duffy had no choice but to stretch for the ball when Antoine Griezmann was through on goal for his hat-trick. A one-man disadvantage was likely easier to overcome than a two-goal deficit so he made the right call, really.
U for underdogs – The Republic of Ireland flourished in their status as underdogs and took the scalps of Italy, were unlucky not to beat Sweden and exceeded all expectations against France, the team most expect to go the whole way. Don’t mention the U-word to Roy Keane, though.
What do we have to lose? https://t.co/mmIumsWBaW
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 26, 2016
V for vengeance – The second that the final whistle was blown in Lille, the revenge narrative kickstarted. Ireland would be gunning for justice after the infamous Thierry Henry handball in 2009 and that question, in some shape or form, was asked in every single press conference in Lyon.
W for Wes – L’Equipe were describing him as ‘The Irish Messi’ in the run up to the round of 16 tie. Says it all, really.
X for XI – Martin O’Neill has done a tremendous job of putting together a team capable of competing on the world stage. Just compare the performances turned in this summer to the Republic of Ireland’s showing at Euro 2012. That’s progress.
Y for ‘You boys in green’ – They’ve done us proud.
Z for Zlatan – One of the greatest forwards of all time was no match for Glenn Whelan’s disciplined display.
Analysis: Here's how Glenn Whelan kept Zlatan quiet #Euro2016 #IRL https://t.co/VHOC85sdm0
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 14, 2016
