Shamrock Shambles
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When Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland were rewarded for qualifying for their first major finals in 10 years by being put in a group with Spain, Italy and Croatia, the expectation was that they would most likely finish at the bottom of the group.
However, after heading to Poland and Ukraine on the back of a 14-game unbeaten run, they were at least expected to give a good account of themselves by being difficult to beat. Instead, their campaign was insipid and inept from start to finish.
They conceded early goals in their first two matches—a 3-1 defeat to Croatia and a 4-0 schooling at the hands of Spain—making them the first team to be eliminated. They could not even salvage any pride in their final match, a limp 2-0 defeat to Italy.
With the Irish team unable to even look like giving it a good go—something you should be able to count on them for, if nothing else—it was left to their amazing fans to leave the best impression on the tournament and put their players to shame.
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