featured-image

EAMON DUNPHY has been impressed by the technical and strategic level of traditional minnows at Euro 2024 - which is bad news for Ireland. Writing in his Irish Mirror column , the longtime RTE pundit acknowledged that the likes of Georgia, Austria, Slovenia, Turkey and Albania are miles ahead of The Boys in Green. Thus far, only Spain and Germany have lived up to their pre-tournament billing.

England, France and Portugal have also advanced to the quarter-finals - but in far less impressive fashion. The 78-year-old does concede though that it is getting increasingly difficult for top-level players to perform at their maximum level when the modern calendar has become overly demanding on their bodies. This has reduced the gap between those talented but jaded squads and their less heralded opponents at end of season tournaments.



Dunphy notes how these supposed lesser lights like have triumphed over sides filled with more big names such as Belgium and Italy. He then goes on to draw a parallel between how they take particular pride in representing their nation as Ireland's players are renowned for. Unfortunately for Ireland though, that's about where the similarities with the current Irish setup end.

He writes: "I’ve watched the likes of Georgia, Austria, Slovenia, Turkey and Albania and they’ve played with more freedom than the supposed European giants. "We’d often hear Ireland players say in interviews that playing for their country is their equivalent of the Champions Leagu.

Back to Fashion Page