John Fallon: Germany put on a show to showcase all that's best

Sliver of hope that silence on Ireland gig will be broken and heady days for Cork City will require additional investors.

PUTTING ON A SHOW: Turkey fans in the stands set off flares during the UEFA Euro 2024, round of 16 match at the Leipzig Stadium. Photo credit: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

If the single-country model for hosting tournaments is an endangered species, then Germany has left its claw marks on the fabric of international football.

A month-long festival will conclude on Sunday week at Berlin’s famous Olympiastadion, after which the summer bonanzas are to resume the scattered guise we’ve come to accept in the modern era.