France come from behind to beat ten-man Ireland

Antoine Griezmann struck twice as France came from behind to beat Ireland 2-1 and make the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

The match in Lyon was barely a minute old when Irish forward Shane Long was brought down in the penalty box by Paul Pogba, with Robbie Brady stepping up to smash home via the post and give Ireland a surprise lead.

But hopes of a victory were dashed in four second-half minutes as Griezmann first headed home from a Bacary Sagna delivery, then smashed a shot low into the bottom right corner after Olivier Giroud played him into space.

Griezmann was at the heart of things again as he was brought down just outside the box when through on goal, Shane Duffy's mis-timed challenge earning him a red card.

France had plenty of chances to put the game beyond doubt with a killer third as Irish legs tired. But a combination of wasteful finishing and inspired keeping from Darren Randolph gave the scoreline a deserved respectability for Irish efforts.

The hosts now go on to face either England or Iceland in the last eight – while Ireland will return home after a fine campaign, but with hopes of revenge dashed: a victory would have been the perfect way for them to exorcise the demon of Thierry Henry's famous 2009 handball assist which probably denied Ireland a spot in the 2010 World Cup.

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