Wily Italians won’t grant Ireland a free pass

So the Italians will rest their star performers on Wednesday to afford Ireland an easy ride to joining them in the knockout stages of Euro 2016? Well, think again.

The supposedly desirable result for the Irish eventually emerged from Toulouse yesterday when Eder’s late winner put one of Ireland’s rivals into the next round and deepened the task of another, Sweden.

Uefa’s decision to enlarge the tournament to 24 nations, entailing all but eight of them reaching the next stage, ensures something is at stake in each of the concluding group fixtures. Third spot will be enough in four of the six groups, keeping alive the possibility of teams recovering from previous mishaps to accrue points on the last lap to give their fans and the watching public added excitement.