Switzerland 0-0 (1-0 on agg.) Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s World Cup dream has come to an end after the Norn Iron played out a goalless stalemate with Switzerland in Basel.
Michael O’Neill’s men deserved credit for their fantastic live betting display in the second leg of the playoff. However, their efforts weren’t enough to turn around the betting odds, as Ricardo Rodriguez’ controversial penalty in Belfast three days ago proved to be just what Switzerland needed to earn a ticket to the big football games in Russia.
Ironically, it was also Rodriguez who denied Northern Ireland a chance in this return fixture after he cleared a Jonny Evans’ injury-time header off the goal line—one which could have forced extra time at the end of the tie.
Against a team ranked 11th in the world, Northern Ireland held on pretty well to keep the World Cup within reach throughout. Besides Evans’ header, they also had more opportunities to score in the second half, and their best chance came on 55 minutes when Conor Washington received an excellent cross from Jamie Ward only to head it wide off the post.
Switzerland, on the other hand, could have had ended the game sooner, but Haris Seferovic missed a string of attempts, much to the frustration of boss Vladimir Petkovic and their home fans.
The Rossocrociati weren’t able to find a way past the in-form Michael McGovern as well, with the 33-year-old Irish keeper making a pair of brilliant saves in the first half to deny Xherdan Shaqiri and Steven Zuber.
With the result, however, O’Neill and Northern Ireland were left rueing their missed opportunities and the ‘disgraceful’ penalty decision in the first game that ended all their hopes. Their exit also means that the nation’s 32-year World Cup drought won’t end any time soon.
Meanwhile, amid the controversy, Switzerland will be happy with another appearance on the biggest stage, which marks their fourth World Cup in a row.
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