France vs Ireland: The 2nd Leg

The second leg of the World Cup qualifiers took place between Ireland on France last Wednesday and the game has caused controversy on a global scale.

The match, played in Paris, was another amazing game with Keane scoring in the first half giving Ireland a 1-0 lead. As the game progressed Ireland maintained possession over the French team and, as the 104th minute of extra time approached Thierry Henry, the French striker, stopped the ball from going out using his hand in order to set up France’s goal to take them to the World Cup in South Africa next year.

The Irish government, and football fans worldwide have appealed to Fifa for a replay of the match. Pesonally I agree as a world class football team should have the decency to admit to cheating. However, I do not agree with the Irish Government bringing the issue up with the French at the next EU summit as I believe that there are more important issues currently and football should not be used as a political tool.

There is currently Facebook pages dedicated to a rematch between the nations with around 300,000 people supporting it. A protest is also due to take place today in Ireland to raise awareness.

The moment that caused outrage

Ireland Defeated in 1st Leg

The atmosphere last night in The Three Sisters was electric, with the Republic of Ireland playing France in the 1st of their two matches in order to qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

The game was surprisingly entertaining and Ireland appeared to have possession of the ball for most of the game. After three near goals for Ireland, France scored, but, after a minute it was declared Off side, stopping the French’s celebrations. The second half was even better than the 1st with Ireland once again nearly scoring several times in a short period of time. However, the Irish’s hope were shattered when France scored as the match climaxed, giving them a 1-0 advantage and ultimately a victory.

However, it is all still left to play for with the 2nd leg being held in Paris this Wednesday. A match not to be missed!

Republic of Ireland to play France!

I couldn’t believe it when I saw on Sky Sports that the Republic of Ireland were drawn to play France in order to qualify for the 2010 world cup in South Africa. And, to make it worse, they have to play them twice!

I am personally cheering for Ireland to win and qualify for the World Cup after last time. I remember classes in school being cancelled for us to go to the assembley hall and watch them play. The hype was amazing as we had hope that Ireland could possibly beat the rest of the world in football, not just drinking! However, our dreams were shattered when Spain beat them in penalties in the quarter finals. What a day that was.

I will post on the day of the match and the result which is hopefully a win for Ireland!