Why is the last-16 draw so lopsided, and is it fair?

Republic of Ireland fans will have woken up in daze.

Many would have been confused to see heavy rain and dark clouds the morning after a day before that had reached 27 degrees.

Others might well have been pinching themselves - while popping some paracetamol following some overindulgence - and double-checking that their team did in fact beat Italy and are through to the last 16.

[MATCH REPORT: Brady the hero as Ireland make last 16]

And some will surely have been looking at the completed line-up of matches thinking: why couldn't we have been on the other side of that draw? Northern Ireland finished third in their group and seem to have a much easier potential run of matches. How did that happen?

A valid question indeed, because looking at the draw many of Europe's traditional powerhouses have fallen into one half, while other so-called 'smaller' nations find themselves on the other side.

Just to refresh your memory, here is the draw:

The match of the round is undoubtedly Italy v Spain. The 12th best team in the world facing the sixth respectively, albeit by the dubious yardstick of FIFA rankings. Compare that to Wales v Northern Ireland, who are numbers 26 and 25.

This came about after many of the favourites to win their group ended up in second place by dropping points against lower-ranked teams. The third-place runners-up also compounded the seemingly lopsided nature of the draw when many were pitted against those sides who had exceeded expectations - Wales and Croatia for example.

Is this fair? Are some teams being disproportionately punished for coming second in their group after only one defeat? Or does it spice up the tournament and give a real opportunity to those that have over-performed in their matches to date?

We look at the response of a manager, a fan and a Eurosport expert whose countries have been affected...

The incoming Chelsea boss is clearly a bit irked by the format of the tournament, given that In the last two European Championships Italy lost in the final to Spain in 2012 and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by the Spaniards in 2008.

"We will have to play one of the favourite teams of the tournament," Conte said.

"It's weird to be on top of the pool and having to face Spain, then maybe Germany and maybe France. It's a bit of a problematic route, but these are the rules.

The 25-year-old thinks that the draw could have balanced itself out, with some groups harder than others, but there was no luck for the Irish this time.

"Just look at the group we were put into - Sweden, Belgium and Italy - that's not fair," he said. "If we had a bit of leeway [it would have been easier] to get to the next round and potentially even itself out.

"Three points against Italy and a point against Sweden for an Irish team that is below average at best. Come on, what more do you want!"

Our resident expert has no sympathy for his country after their defeat to Croatia. He insists that the rules were known before the tournament started, so there are no excuses.

He said: "Before starting the Euros, all the teams knew already how they would be fighting to get out of their groups.

"Spain or Portugal were second or third. It is because they did not win their matches, simple as that."

Clearly there are spit opinions here - some countries will be delighted the way it has worked out, others will be pretty annoyed. However, our man in Spain makes probably the most salient point - if any team underperforms, they only have themselves to blame.

Yes, the draw is lopsided but that is because some teams have dipped in form, others have not. The unpredictable nature brings even more excitement so won't it be nice to see some different names in the final few matches?