The football writers at The Telegraph have compiled an a ranking of all 24 teams that have qualified for Euro 2016.
A paper known for it's football writing, we were hoping that the collective heads over there wouldn't be too harsh on Martin O'Neill's men considering some of the nations that are joining us in 'Pot 4' of the group stage draw, and we were happy enough with what we saw.
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Of the 24 teams ranked, Ireland came in at a respectable 15th, surprisingly ahead of the likes of Turkey and Ukraine. This is what they had to say about the boys in green:
Martin O’Neill’s energy and organisation will make Ireland an awkward opponent for whoever they face, but the lack of quality in the side will be difficult to compensate for.
Robbie Keane, Jon Walters and Shane Long will never stop working, but you’d expect the continent’s best defences to be able to cope with them without too much difficulty.
Wes Hoolahan and Seamus Coleman will provide some class in midfield and defence, but a gritty second-round exit is the most likely outcome for the Irish.
I think if you offered most Irish fans a 'gritty second-round exit' now, they'd bit your hand off. Of course it remains to be seen how the draw goes.
Here are their rankings in full, and you can read their reasoning over on Telegraph.co.uk:
24. Hungary
23. Albania
22. Slovakia
21. Romania
20. Ukraine
19. Northern Ireland
18. Switzerland
17. Turkey
16. Czech Republic
15. Republic of Ireland
14. Iceland
13. Sweden
12. Russia
11. Wales
10. Poland
9. Croatia
8. Austria
7. England
6. Portugal
5. Italy
4. Belgium
3. Spain
2. France
1. Germany
Interesting.
Note how Ireland beat the team ranked at #1, but in all seriousness, we can't have too many complaints there.
Maybe Iceland, but then again they were excellent in qualifying.
