Ireland may have exited the tournament, but they are leaving having won over the hearts and minds of football supporters.
Ireland were ranked as one of the five worst teams coming into the tournament - the French were the bookmakers' favourites yet Ireland had them on the ropes after 45 minutes.
If McClean managed to pick out Long, if the ref had given the corner after Ward's shot (one minute later Griezmann had the ball in the Irish net), if Duffy didn't get sent off. The what-ifs will haunt Ireland, but the fact is - they outperformed expectations in this tournament.
The French reaction has been gracious - thanking Irish fans for their contribution to the tournament and all. But it's still going to hurt.
Credit to #IRL for not only giving #FRA a scare today but also for bringing plenty to #Euro2016 on & off the pitch. #FRAIRL
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) June 26, 2016
And over on /r/soccer, the sentiment was very similar form quite a few French fans.
The sickening thing was that it had all started so well - the French reaction to Robbie Brady's second-minute spot kick was typically restrained...
