‘Delighted’ Martin O’Neill turns focus to Germany clash

This felt big, but Martin O’Neill greeted victory last night with a cautious optimism.

The yellow cards picked up by Glenn Whelan and James McClean may require a tactical rethink against the Republic’s next opponents, who just happen to be the reigning world champion Germans. After that, it’s off to Warsaw for one last date with Poland.

He was no killjoy. “Delighted” was the first word out of his mouth and he spoke about how “we all want to get to France for a few weeks, do a bit of drinking”, when asked to look ahead and envisage how the last two rounds and the group itself would pan out.