(Reuters) - Ireland's qualification for the second round of Euro 2016 from a tough group may have raised a few eyebrows but assistant manager Roy Keane was not surprised.
Ireland secured a famous 1-0 victory over Italy on Wednesday to advance and face another of Europe's elite teams in France for a place in the quarter-finals.
"To me, there have been no real surprises," Keane told reporters. "The teams that have done well, I thought, had a chance of getting out of their groups.
"The Icelands and ourselves -- maybe if later in the competition we're still in it, you go maybe yeah it is a surprise," he added.
"If you do your homework on Iceland, it's no surprise, they've got a good team, a strong team, good mentality, physically very strong -- look at their qualifying campaign."
Ireland's game against France will bring back memories of the 2009 match between the sides in which Thierry Henry controlled the ball with his hand and found William Gallas whose equaliser helped France seal a spot in the 2010 World Cup.
But Keane was adamant his team will not be motivated by revenge.
"We don't have that mentality. Revenge doesn't come into it, he said.