It was all doom-and-gloom when the Roy Keane affair hit the headlines, but fast-forward a month and an estimated 100,000 fans welcomed the squad back to Dublin.

When their captain was sent packing you had to question how far the squad could go as he was their one world-class player.

But every single player stepped up to the challenge and performed to their best and the fightbacks against Cameroon, Germany and Spain showed Ireland's team spirit.

I know the pain of losing in the World Cup on penalties, but every cloud has a silver lining.