Too little, too late and just not good enough, the Republic of Ireland succumbed to the inevitable in Poznan on Monday night and crashed out of Euro 2012 after being outclassed by Italy.

The damage already done by the humiliating defeats to Croatia and Spain, Giovanni Trapattoni’s deflated troops were unable to pull off the shock of the tournament to halt Italy’s progress to the quarter-finals.

They held on for 35 minutes, albeit with their backs up against a big Poznan wall, but when Antonio Cassano nodded Italy into the lead, Ireland were never likely to recover. Italy had to wait until the last minute for Mario Balotelli’s second, but it was no surprise when it came.

Through: Italy celebrate Cassano's first-half strike

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