Match Facts
Head-to-head
- Italy's record in 13 meetings with Ireland is W8, D3, L2 (W4, D2, L1 in competitive games), with three of their last five ending in draws.
- They met four years ago at Euro 2012 in Poznan. Cesare Prandelli's Italy overcame Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland 2-0 thanks to goals from Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli.
- Not since the first two meetings between the sides, which were both 3-0 victories for Italy, has either team managed to score more than two goals.
- Italy have reached the knockout stages of the Euros for the sixth time in eight tournaments since 1980.
- The only previous time Italy have won their first two games at a Euros was in 2000, when they eventually reached the final.
- They are unbeaten in their 12 competitive games under Antonio Conte (W9, D3). Their last defeat was against Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup.
- Italy have never scored more than two goals in their 35 games at the European Championship.
- They have only lost two of their 23 games in the group stages of a Euro finals (W12 D9).
- Italy have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four games, their longest run since the 2006 World Cup, which they eventually won.
- The Irish are competing at their third Euros, but have yet to make it through the group stage.
- They lost all three of their games at Euro 2012.
- In their last game against Belgium, they failed to have a shot on target in a major tournament game for the first time since the 1994 World Cup (v Norway).
- They are winless in their last seven Euro final matches (D2, L5), since winning their first ever game in the tournament against England in 1988.
- Ireland have never scored more than one goal in a European Championship finals game. In total they have scored just four goals in eight matches.
Robbie Brady struck with just five minutes remaining as the Republic of Ireland claimed a dramatic 1-0 win over Italy in Lille on Wednesday to reach the knockout phase of Euro 2016.
Brady's goal arrived just when it looked as if Ireland were heading out due to a combination of Italy goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan.
Ireland had to win the match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy against an Italian side already assured of first place in Group E and got the win they needed to set up a last-16 tie against hosts France.
Ireland were the better side and were twice left fuming at the match officials as penalty calls went against them in the final five minutes of the half.
First the Romanian referee and his assistants failed to spot Angelo Ogbonna wrestling with Murphy in the area and then he ruled that Federico Bernardeschi played the ball fairly as he took out McClean.
Before Brady struck, Sirigu, standing in for Gianluigi Buffon in the Italian goal, made a superb save to deny Daryl Murphy while Hategan twice waved away Irish penalty appeals in the first half.
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