Due to the strong Villa connection I was keen for Ireland to do well/due to the strong Villa connection I was not so confident of Ireland doing well.
The highlight of the day was Irish fans being interviewed by ITV in a generic town square a couple of hours prior to kickoff. They'd clearly arrived 24 hours earlier for some pre-match sharpeners, and had no idea what day or time it was; with one lad repeatedly instructing viewers to bet their house on Dunne scoring the opener. He didn't.
The match was effectively over after 3 minutes with a soft Mandzukic header beating a disappointing dive from Given. This sapped the spirit of the Irish, who looked second best thereafter.
The sharp Croatian passing (on a slick surface) was doing almost as much damage to the game as the phantom crowd whistle, which someone blew every time the ball was floated into the penalty area - really offputting and I'm amazed it didn't cause more problems.
Ireland briefly threatened a fightback, and were denied a definite penalty about 10 mins from time that may have seen a spirited fightback; but with Spain and Italy to come, their tournament looks done.
The Irish are getting smashed (in every sense).
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