Collins devastated by super save that denied Ireland a share of spoils

Nathan Collins was convinced that his last-gasp header had snatched a point for Ireland, but for the "save of the season" from France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, which resulted in Stephen Kenny's side losing their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

The Ireland centre-half rose highest in the box to angle an excellent effort towards the top corner in the dying moments of the game, but somehow Maignan managed to get enough on the ball and claw it away to safety - described as the best of the year by Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after the game.

And it would have been a deserved point, according to Collins, who said that he was "heartbroken" not to take anything tangible from the ultimate test against the World Cup finalists.

"It was a very good performance, tactically and physically; I thought we had done enough," said Collins, speaking to RTE Sport’s Damien O’Meara after the game.

"We deserved something but at the end of the day we haven’t and lost the game.

"I thought I’d done everything," he added, when asked about his last-minute attempt. "I got as high as I could, I got power behind it, but it’s an unbelievable save."

Collins believes that Ireland got their tactics spot on against the travelling France side, and felt that Didier Deschamps’ side showed their true quality to pounce on one of the very few mistakes that Ireland made throughout to grab the only goal of the game, courtesy of a Benjamin Pavard wonderstrike.

But the Wolves defender was not too downbeat following the game, taking real encouragement from how his side performed on the night, knowing that it should serve them well going through the remainder of the campaign.

"That’s the difference at the top level. It’s so frustrating. I’m heartbroken for the lads," he said.

"They