Republic of Ireland hero Jeff Hendrick joked that he hoped there weren't any cameras on him in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s win over Italy - because he was in tears.
Henrick was one of Ireland’s best players in a historic 1-0 win, which was good enough to send the Boys in Green through to the last 16 where they will face hosts France in Lyon on Sunday.
“Hopefully there weren’t too many cameras on me because I was crying my heart out trying to take it all in,” he said with a rueful smile.
“And it’s unbelievable to share that moment with the lads in the dressing room - we’ve been through a lot, it’s been two years coming.
“There was two years qualifying and we’ve been away a month now. It’s hard work, but everyone talks about what a tight group we are and to share this moment with all those players is unbelievable.
“And with the fans as well who have put everything aside and travelled over here, I’m sure it’s expensive, and they’ve been unbelievable for the country - they’re so loud and everyone is praising them.
“They are the 12th man for us and there’s another game from them now - it’s great!”
Jeff Hendrick "was crying his heart out" in the aftermath of the moment that was "two years coming" @corktodhttps://t.co/ofC9etkhBF
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 22, 2016
Henrick’s childhood friend Robbie Brady scored the dramatic winner, rising unchallenged in the Italy box to head the ball home just minutes from the final whistle.
The Derby County midfielder admitted he was getting nervous following all the chances Ireland spurned, but joked that scoring late was the best thing to do.
“With the chances we created, you just one want of them to go in, but it’s better to get the goal right at the end because it doesn’t give them a chance to comeback,” he said.
“Any goal, whatever way it goes in, we were delighted - I was delighted for Robbie too. He’s scored a few goals with his head over the years, I’ve seen a few of them.
“The desire from him to get into the box - everyone was tired and someone else might have just hung at the edge of the box. For him to break the line and get in front of the keeper, he was brave and he got his rewards.”
Hendrick says the Italy win tops other recent famous Irish soccer nights like the qualifier win over Germany at the Aviva Stadium or the play-off defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the way to France.
“They are the 12th man for us and there’s another game from them now - it’s great!” - Jeff Hendrick salutes Ireland's fans
And he says Ireland are more than ready to take on the hosts - who are tournament favourites and have played some of the best football of the competition so far.
“I thought it would be hard to top nights like Germany and Bosnia, but out there tonight from the first whistle we tried to be positive like the Sweden game,” he explained.
“We knew that we had to put on a performance at least because of the Belgium game, we knew wasn’t good enough and we didn’t want to leave the tournament with that hanging over our heads.
“The next stage now is unbelievable, but we have to get our heads screwed on now and get ready for the next game.
“We want to play the top teams and we look forward to it. It’s going to be tough but the pressure is on them.”
