Paul Bryan, Arena Gdansk: Spain achieved a highly comfortable victory here and will now look to seal their progress through to the last eight when they face Croatia next Monday. Ireland’s supporters continue to sing after the final whistle but their side’s tournament has ended here with a game to spare.

00:25 St Ledger (Republic of Ireland) is booked.

00:23 Fàbregas (Spain) scores!

00:21 Green (in) - Whelan (out) (Republic of Ireland).

00:21 Santi Cazorla (in) - Iniesta (out) (Spain).

00:17 McClean (in) - Duff (out) (Republic of Ireland).

00:17 Javi Martínez (Spain) is cautioned by the referee.

00:15 Fàbregas (in) - Torres (out) (Spain). The Chelsea FC man took his international tally to 30 goals tonight, and is replaced by the man who got the goal against Italy in the first group game.

00:11 Torres (Spain) scores! Pressure from Andrés Iniesta and David Silva wins possession in the centre circle, and the latter releases the scorer of the first who streaks away from Richard Dunne and finishes expertly to the right of Shay Given who could do nothing. 

00:06 Javi Martínez (in) - Xabi Alonso (out) (Spain).

23:57 Torres (Spain) is adjudged to be in an offside position.

23:55 Xabi Alonso (Spain) is shown a yellow card.

23:50 Silva (Spain) scores!

23:46 Walters (in) - Cox (out) (Republic of Ireland).

Fist time finishes with Spain - Republic of Ireland 1:0.

23:30 Whelan (Republic of Ireland) is shown a yellow card.

23:20 Keane (Republic of Ireland) is booked.

It is a huge ask for Ireland now, even more so considering the statistic that Spain have never lost after taking the lead in a European Championship finals match (13 wins, 2 draws).

23:08 Iniesta (Spain) has an effort on goal. Shay Given makes an excellent save to his right as the the defence backs off the FC Barcelona man, who hits an arrowed shot from the edge of the area, but there is no way past the keeper this time.

23:07 Keane (Republic of Ireland) is flagged for offside.

23:02 Torres (Spain) is flagged for offside.

22:49 Torres (Spain) scores! Spain are ahead! Richard Dunne denies David Silva with a strong tackle on the edge of the Irish area, but the Chelsea FC forward pounces on the loose ball, drives into the area and flashes the ball past Shay Given from the angle on the right.

22:45 The match begins.

These two teams have not met since the 2002 FIFA World Cup round of 16. Spain won 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Robbie Keane scored from the penalty spot in the 90th minute to take the game into extra time.

The draw with Italy ended Spain's run of 14 straight competitive victories since they surprisingly lost 1-0 to Switzerland in their opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. Will they start a new run tonight?

Paul Bryan, Arena Gdansk: The skies above the stadium are grey and the temperature is more autumnal than summer-like, however, the atmosphere here is building steadily as kick-off approaches.

Ireland footbal team lineup: Given, St Ledger, Ward, O'Shea, Dunne, Whelan, McGeady, Andrews, Duff, Keane, Cox SUBS: Westwood, Forde, Kelly, McShane, O'Dea, Gibson, Hunt, Green, McClean, Doyle, Walters, Long.

Spain footbal team lineup: Casillas, Piqué, Ramos, Arbeloa, Alba, Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Silva, Torres SUBS: Valdés, Reina, Albiol, Martínez, Juanfran, Fàbregas, Cazorla, Navas, Pedro Rodríguez, Negredo, Mata, Llorente.

UEFA

In fact, this group was predictable except for some sensations. Experts say that such a collection of teams will assure interesting football.

There are also unexpected guests in the quarterfinal group. They are Greece and the Czech Republic. By ousting their main rivals – Russia and Poland, they, according to experts, have extended their presence in the tournament for a short while. They will have to play against Germany and Portugal consequently, which are much stronger than Greece and the Czech Republic. The winners of the so-called “death group” might face serious problems with teams from Greece and the Czech Republic. They have long been famous for the ability to defend involving the entire team. The Czech Republic, which has the legendary goalkeeper of Chelsea Petr Cech, will have nothing else to do rather than to play defence. The Greek team will stay in its half of the pitch and search for a chance to launch a counter attack or a standard attack. For them, this is a favourable circumstance but this will not be beautiful football, experts say.

Europe’s big teams will play the other two quarter finals. The results of these matches are unpredictable. England and Italy tried to play actively during the group matches. It was fairly visible that the teams had many problems but in the end, they could overcome them. In short, they should play as equally strong teams. Spain is likely to win in the quarter final between Spain and France. It has no psychological problems. Its goalkeeper Iker Casillas is very reliable. The midfield is creative and mobile, first and foremost, owing to the play by duet Xavi-Iniesta from Barcelona. Coach Vincente del Bosque has trained all the players to be effective in attacks. From Fernando Torres to Jesus Navas who rarely appears on the pitch. France ended the group matches in a minor key allowing Sweden to score two goals. It lost the match 2-0.

The biggest sensation of the tournament is the ouster of Russia and the Netherlands as well as Euro-2012 hosts, Poland and Ukraine. In fact, it was hard for the Ukrainians. According to coaches, players and fans, Ukraine scored a goal in their last match, but it was not counted. If this had been done the game would have been much more interesting.

The quarterfinal marches will be played from the 21st to the 24th June. Ukraine hosts two matches, while Poland the other two. In fact the tournament can be described as successful. The teams scored many goals. The Euro-2012 has had sensations, as well as a scandal over the disturbances of Russian fans in Warsaw. Nevertheless, it is a holiday of sport and a spectacle. In view of this, regardless of who supports which team, everything is happening on the highest level.