Gary Connaughton reporting from the Aviva Stadium
So close, but yet so far for Ireland.
Very few game them any chance of getting a result against France this evening. Fresh off the back of a second consecutive World Cup final appearance, Didier Deschamps' men are widely regarded as the best team on the planet.
In contrast Ireland have often flattered to deceive over the last couple of years. They have certainly struggled against sides far inferior to this French one, although they will hope that this performance was the first step on the next stage of their journey as a team.
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While this campaign was never meant to be judged by results against France, they will take away a huge amount of confidence from the went toe-to-toe with top class opposition. They will now look to carry that form into the game against Greece and Gibraltar in June, a window in which positive results will very much be the priority.
Didier Deschamps impressed with Ireland in France defeat
Didier Deschamps has faced Ireland on a couple of occasions in the past during his time in charge of France, defeating Martin O'Neill's men 2-1 at Euro 2016 as well as a 2-0 friendly victory in Paris in 2018.
He spoke in the buildup to this fixture how the Irish side have changed since then, and speaking after this evening's win, he admitted that he was impressed with the way in which the home side managed to contain a number of his French stars.
We had a tough schedule, coming here after playing (against the Netherlands) on Friday. We were coming up against an opposition that were fresh and had the public behind them.
We might not have played as well, but Ireland defended well. We didn't create so many chances, but we did what we had to do to win. It was an amazing save (from Mike Maignan) at the end, it was almost as important as the goal.
This is a tough place to come, but I'm happy and proud of my team...
We scored four goals on Friday, we didn't pose as much of a threat today, but I think that speaks to the strength of Ireland's defence.
The fact we didn't concede is so important, especially in a close game like today's...
Kylian Mbappe and Theo Hernandez have a great relationship. Tonight, I think the opposition did a good job at defending them. They are such a strong combination on the wing, but each game is different so you can't take too much for it.
As for Olivier Giroud, Ireland marked him really tightly. They played three centre backs and he didn't have as much space as he would like. It depends on the game as a whole, but he didn't haven much space.
Ireland certainly did an excellent job at containing an incredibly talented French attacking unit, arguably creating the better chances in the game overall.
It should inspire confidence that they can repeat the trick against the Dutch later this year. While they came up just short tonight, the performance could suggest that their chances of sneaking a top two finish in the group are a bit higher than had previously been anticipated.
SEE ALSO: Ireland Player Ratings As Kenny's Men Fall Agonisingly Short Against France
See Also: The French Commentators Went Absolutely Nuts After The Mike Maignan Save
