France 2-1 Republic of Ireland: EURO 2016 Round of 16 Report

France will face either England or Iceland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 next Sunday evening after beating a brave Republic of Ireland side 2-1 in the Round of 16 in Lyon.

Antoine Griezmann was the star of the show as his second half brace saw France come from behind to beat Ireland, who also had Shane Duffy sent off after the break, after Robbie Brady had scored a second minute penalty to give them a shock lead.

Martin O’Neill named an unchanged line-up from the 1-0 win against Italy on Wednesday evening which sent Ireland through to this fixture as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Meanwhile, France recalled arguably the tournament’s best player so far, Dimitri Payet, as well as Olivier Giroud, Blaise Matuidi and N’Golo Kante as Didier Deschamps made four changes from last Sunday’s drab and goalless encounter against Switzerland.

After just one minute, Shane Long reacted quickest to a loose ball in the area and was bundled over by Paul Pogba for a penalty.

Brady, the heroic match-winner against Italy, stepped up from the spot and fired home the ball via the right post to put Ireland ahead against the home nation, who hadn’t been beaten in Lyon since 1958.

Robbie Brady of Republic of Ireland scores the opening goal from the penalty spot. Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Unsurprisingly, the French began to mount pressure on O’Neill’s men but Darren Randolph stood firm against West Ham team-mate Payet’s free-kick, Griezmann’s header and Pogba’s long range free-kick in the opening quarter of the game.

A harsh yellow for Kante on 27 minutes for an innocuous challenge of the halfway line on James McClean means the Leicester City midfielder will miss the quarter-final.

The narrative of the first half continued as France were reduced to long range attempts as their more direct style was dealt with by the Irish defence, who looked assured at the back.

Ireland then had a fantastic opportunity five minutes before the interval to double their advantage but Shane Duffy headed wide while under pressure from Pogba after a perfect in-swinging ball from Brady.

With the Irish once again on the counter through Long, the Southampton forward was fouled by Adil Rami, who will now also miss the quarter-final after picking up a yellow card.

In the first of four minutes added on at half time, incredible last-ditch defending from Stephen Ward and Richard Keogh denied both Payet and Griezmann from grabbing the equaliser.

At the interval the cautioned Kante was replaced by Bayern Munich’s 20-year-old winger Kingsley Coman as France looked to change their attacking dynamic.

Just three minutes into the second-half, Payet’s in-swinging ball found Laurent Koscielny at the far post but the Arsenal defender’s diving header went wide when he should have done better.

On 57 minutes, the Irish defence was finally broken as Bacary Sagna whipped in a delightful ball which an unmarked Griezmann met to head past Randolph for his second goal of the tournament.

Antoine Griezmann of France scores a goal to make it 1-1. Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Three minutes later, France took the lead. A long ball to Giroud brought both Irish defenders out of position and the Arsenal striker’s knock-down found Griezmann who slid the ball past Randolph to complete an incredible turnaround.

The game was then effectively finished on 66 minutes as Duffy brought down Griezmann just outside the area as the last man and was shown a straight red card.

Substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac then came within inches of increasing France’s lead but his curling effort cannoned back off the crossbar.

In the final knockings, Griezmann was denied by Randolph when through on goal to complete his hat-trick but without a visibly tired Ireland having another chance, France progressed into the quarter-finals.

Man of the Match: Antoine Griezmann (France)

Despite starting the game slowly and looking frustrated during the first half, the Atletico Madrid forward was in ruthless form during the second period.

His link-up play with Giroud seemed almost telepathic at times as he took advantage of the target man’s knock-downs in a throwback to football more commonly seen in a past era.

His positional awareness was clear as he headed home his first goal, peeling away from the Irish defensive line to give him half a yard, which he duly took to meet Sagna’s cross.

Linking up with his side across the frontline with intricate passes and sharp movement, he was rewarded as his movement away from Giroud enabled him to grab the decisive second goal for the French.

The 25-year-old was also responsible for Duffy’s red card, as the Irish defender was forced to bring him down as Griezmann looked to grab his third.

What’s Next?

Hosts France will now face either England or Iceland in the quarter-final at the Stade de France next Sunday – July 3, while Ireland can head home with their heads held high after reaching the knockout stages of a European Championship finals for the first time.