On Air Now:
Now Playing:Loading...
site loader
November 16, 2021 Northern Ireland Secure Draw To Deny Italy Automatic World Cup Qualification

Northern Ireland Secure Draw

Northern Ireland produced their best performance of the qualifying campaign to earn a shock 0-0 draw that denied Italy automatic World Cup qualification.

An outstanding second-half performance from Northern Ireland in front of a raucous Windsor Park crowd almost supplied a win that would have been one of the biggest giant killing acts in their footballing history.

George Saville and Stuart Dallas had both come close to scoring with good opportunities before substitute Conor Washington raced onto a long ball in the 90th minute and beat the outrushing Donnarumma to the ball.

The Charlton Athletic striker was clear on goal and should have put the thrilling fixture to bed but he failed to catch his left-foot shot cleanly and it allowed Italy captain Leonardo Bonucci to get back and clear off his line.

The draw secured a third-place finish in the table for Ian Baraclough's men.

Roberto Mancini's men, who came into the match ahead of the Swiss on goal difference, must now prepare for a play-off in March, having missed out on the last World Cup by losing a play-off to Sweden.

Switzerland, who went into Monday night's final qualifying matches in second place, came through to win the group by hammering Bulgaria 4-0.

Switzerland's win over Bulgaria means they top Group C and European champions Italy must face a play-off for a place in Qatar.

Northern Ireland Secure Draw

MORE STORIES

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rating*

Watch Live

x
PHP Code Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com
X