'Proud' Ogbene turns focus to Dutch showdown

Chiedozie Ogbene was left to reflect on what might have been after the Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-0 by France in their Euro 2024 qualifier in Paris.

On what was a tough night for Stephen Kenny's men, Ogbene was the outstanding player, causing problems for the French defence with his aggressive running while helping to shackle Kylian Mbappe at the other end of the pitch.

Goals either side of half-time from Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram decided a one-sided match and afterwards, Ogbene admitted that Ireland were outclassed by Les Bleus.

"It’s a difficult night for us and myself," the Irish player of the match said. "We gave everything out on the pitch today and just came up short.

"I wouldn’t fault the effort, we came up against a world class team, everyone tried their best. We tried to implement our game and I think we were in it at the start but we just came up short."