It was a good outing for Martin O'Neill's men in their second-to-last game before the European Championships start. Ireland will now face Belarus before naming their squad, and the first game against Sweden on the 13th of June is at the forefront of everyone's minds.
We've been looking out for at the form of Ireland's Euro 2016 opponents, and it might surprise you (or it might not) to know that they have been looking out for us.
Here is how the international media reacted to the Republic of Ireland's draw with the Netherlands:
The Times UK headlined that "Ireland took their eye off the ball". According to George Caulkin who was in Dublin, Martin O'Neill has plenty of positives and negatives to ponder over ahead of next month.
Arter and Long were singled out for their play, with Arter in particular making "a case for inclusion in France, adding zip in the absence of James McCarthy".
David Hytner of the Telegraph is now just waiting for the start to the tournament. Arter too was the highlight of Hytner, with not much else to cheer about:
Midfielder Harry Arter seized the occasion with a man-of-the-match display. Otherwise, the evening was notable for Shane Long’s goal and the manner in which Ireland controlled proceedings.
It was a performance which prompted Italian journalist Dionisio Corsetti to theorise that Ireland would make it through to the knockout stages. The performance of Long are the main reason for this, but Corsetti thinks that Ireland's resilience will see them through:
Martin O'Neill will have been delighted with his side's resilience and shape for long periods.
The Belgians are also on alert, with Gazet Van Antwerpen claiming that we are "not a bite-sized morsel Ireland".
Ireland has given the Red Devils a big warning in view of the European Championship.
Their view of the game was that Ireland were much superior to the fallen Dutch, and complimented Ireland on the few chances they limited Holland to, especially in the first half:
A stiff Ireland was a difficult play to block hardly gave away chances.
For Ireland's Euro 2016 opponents, Belguim play Switzerland today, with Italy facing Scotland on Sunday. Sweden don't play their warm-up game until they host Slovenia on Monday.
