Bloody knockout football. Whilst the introduction of third placed qualifying has meant party time for many of the smaller nations, the hard hitting reality of the second phase has meant tournament exits for both Northern Ireland and the Rep of Ireland.
Already giving a bloody good account of themselves up till now, the Irish contingent were on stellar form after their side’s 2-1 defeat to hosts France.
During the match itself, The Boys In Green gave a heroic performance and even had the lead when Robbie Brady had put the Irish into a surprise lead after just two minutes, via a spot-kick, however were unable to survive a France fight back and an Antoine Griezmann double.
Despite the bitter disappointment, the players and staff were in awe of their fans superb rendition of ‘Fields of Athenry’ come the final whistle.
A fine way to end for a country that have offered up so much to this years Euro’s.
Beautiful moment as Irish players and staff observe the fans belting out Fields of Athenry to them.#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/LIm86noQJm
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) June 26, 2016
(Video: @ConanDoherty)