France Vs Republic Of Ireland: Euro 2016 (2 - 1) On 26th June 2016 - European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga)

France Vs Republic Of Ireland: Euro 2016 (2 - 1) On 26th June 2016 - European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) - Nairaland

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France Vs Republic Of Ireland: Euro 2016 (2 - 1) On 26th June 2016 by timbros(op): 9:46pm On Jun 25, 2016

[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRO1jeh0CjlJxRNQ51Bjs_T9R0XHd2CnHwPvk0sj8iXmDuinPmozW7i-eQ[/img] [size=16pt]France vs Republic of Ireland[/size] [img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_d-t38KFgX0chyu-No2H4kihfW8oSH0UBhN_MB8dI6HP2H1lb4q51Dhc[/img]

Host nation France will face Republic of Ireland in the Round of 16 on Sunday afternoon at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

The match will be the first meeting between the sides since their 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off, where Thierry Henry infamously handled the ball in the lead up to France’s winner from William Gallas.

France qualified for the last 16 as Group A winners with 7 points to their name. They come into the match on the back of a goalless draw with Switzerland.

Having already qualified as group winners, Didier Deschamps handed starts to Kingsley Coman, Moussa Sissoko, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Yohan Cabaye in a shuffled line-ups. The latter won an incredible 9 tackles, just 1 shy of the tournament-high total. Youngster Coman clocked a tournament top speed of 33 km/h.

Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet came closest to scoring but were both denied by the crossbar. Payet had scored two goals in France’s first two group matches.

In the knockout match, Deschamps is expected to revert to the starting eleven that took to the field against Romania in the tournament’s opening match, with N’Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi returning in central midfield and Olivier Giroud up top.

Ireland have progressed to the knockout stages for the first time in their history. Martin O’Neill’s side qualified as one of the top four third-placed sides, finishing behind Italy and Belgium in Group E.

The win against the Azzurri was epic. Ireland were on the verge of exiting the competition, but a dramatic late header from Robbie Brady, brilliantly assisted by substitute Wes Hoolahan, sealed a famous victory for the Irish, albeit against a much-changed Italian side.

Jonathan Walters missed the match with an achilles injury and is “trying to get fit” in time for the match against the Euro 2016 hosts. Martin O’Neill also confirmed that full back Stephen Ward is a doubt with an ankle injury.

Aside from those injury concerns, knowing how the Irish will line up against Les Bleus is hard to predict. Against Italy, O’Neill made four changes to his line-up. John O’Shea and Ciaran Clark were dropped for Shane Duffy and Richard Keogh, and Jeff Hendrick was in for Glenn Whelan in midfield.

Will O’Neill keep faith with the team the beat Italy? Will Hoolahan start?

What’s sure is that Ireland will be fired up for the match, and with Roy Keane in the dugout, their amazing fans in the stands, and with the Italy win under their belt, they will step onto the pitch believing they can beat the French on their own home turf.

Possible XI

France: Lloris, Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra, Kante, Cabaye, Pogba, Griezmann, Giroud, Payet.

Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Keogh, Ward, Hendrick, McCarthy, Brady, McClean, Murphy, Long.