Ireland's under-17s have qualified for the quarter finals of the 2017 European Championship, despite a heavy 7-0 hammering at the hands of Germany on Wednesday morning.
The Irish side have advanced thanks to their three way head to head record against Bosnia and Serbia.
The Bosnian side suffered a 1-0 defeat against Serbia with the knock-on effect of that result meaning Ireland will finish second in the group because of goals scored, having beaten Bosnia 2-1 earlier in the group.
Speaking after the defeat, Ireland head coach Colin O'Brien expressed mixed emotions: "We had a tough day today at the office. There will be a lot to learn for us from that game. We were second best for a lot of it.
"When you play a team like Germany and you don’t do the right things around your own box, they are clinical and they showed that today.
"However, it was about keeping [our tournament] alive for the last match. With Bosnia winning it has put us through to the quarter final stage, the furthest we’ve got in 20 years so it’s a good day from that perspective."
#IRLU17 have qualified for the Quarter Finals finishing second in the group on the head-to-head rule. England or Netherlands await in the QF pic.twitter.com/lb5Z3dMA7b
— FAIreland (@FAIreland) May 10, 2017
In the quarter finals, Ireland will face the winners of Wednesday afternoon's match between England and the Netherlands.
Jann Fiete Arp scored a hat-trick for Germany as they beat Ireland convincingly, with the other goals coming from Elias Abouchabaka, Noah Awuku and Eric Hottmann.
Ireland defender and captain Lee O'Connor scored an own goal on 21 minutes.
🇩🇪 Jann-Fiete Arp
Appearances at Croatia 2017: 3ï¸âƒ£
Hat-tricks: 2ï¸âƒ£
Goals: ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽#U17EURO pic.twitter.com/a3y8VkFqzi— UEFA.com (@UEFAcom) May 10, 2017
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