Ireland Pulls Off the Upset

Italy lost its final match Wednesday against a hungry Republic of Ireland team.  Robbie Brady put Ireland ahead in the 85th minute to pull off the stunner.

 

Brady received a perfectly placed cross behind Italy’s backline from Wes Hoolahan and directed it straight through the goal.  Ireland was able to hold onto the lead during the final eight minutes (three minutes were given in stoppage time) despite Italy’s added pressure.  Ireland desperately needed the win because it was their only way to move onto the Round of 16.

Besides the late goal from Ireland, the game was extremely uneventful.  The possession was virtually even throughout the game and both teams had about the same amount of fouls.  

Italy’s struggles without most of their starting lineup was evident by their inability to handle an overall weak Irish squad, and their lack of strong attack was shown by the dismal five shots taken throughout the game, and only one on goal, compared to Ireland’s 12 shots and four on goal.  Italy coach Antonio Conte made eight changes to his starting lineup to rest his key players and avoid them getting into foul trouble because some would miss the next game if they received another yellow card.  

While Conte said that the second string had “given everything” they had, their performance was wildly disappointing.  The passing was awful, counterattacks unproductive, and defense was porous.  The intensity of the Irish proved to be too much to match.  But despite the poor play, Conte excused the loss by reminding us that “it was the game of their lives for them…That’s how they play.  They never give up.”

While the Irish celebrated and Italy hobbled off the field knowing this match had no effect on their future, both teams have strong opponents coming up in the next round.  Ireland will play host nation France, the heavy favorite in their matchup.  

Despite Italy’s two wins, they too have a tough matchup ahead against Spain.  Spain started off the Euro Cup with two impressive wins against the Czech Republic (1-0) and Turkey (3-0) before losing its final match of the group stage to Croatia (2-1).  Although Spain’s surprising collapse in the World Cup two years ago is still fresh in many of our minds, they are still one of the most dangerous teams in the world.  With Italy’s play growing increasingly worse throughout the tournament so far, they will need a performance reminiscent of the Belgium victory that opened up the tournament.  With Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi, and Italy’s other starters rested, they should be able to compete with Spain and contend for a victory.