Ireland

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has named his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Evan Ferguson included despite struggling with an ankle problem.

The forward – on loan at Roma from Brighton, who scored in the 1-0 win against Armenia in October, picked up the injury against Parma on 29 October. However, he is included in the 25-man squad for the final two group games that begin at home to Portugal on Thursday, 13 November (19:45 GMT) before a trip to Hungary on Sunday, 16 November (14:00 GMT).

Hallgrimsson’s side go into the final round of matches in Group F sitting in third, one point behind Hungary who travel to Armenia in the first of their games, knowing qualification for the 2026 World Cup could be out of their grasp with a game to spare should they lose to runaway leaders Portugal.

Missing for that game will be Jayson Molumby and Ryan Manning through suspension, but both are included in the squad.

There is a return for Mark Sykes despite his club Bristol City revealing he would miss their next two games after sustaining a gash on his leg in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers.

With Callum O’Dowda out, Jimmy Dunne retains his place in the squad after coming in as a late replacement for the October internationals, while American-born 26-year-old Kevin O’Toole receives a call-up with the left-sided New York City player eligible through his grandfather.

However, there is no call for Celtic’s Johnny Kenny – despite scoring three goals in his last two games, including the opener in the League Cup semi-final win over Rangers at the weekend – even though Hallgrimsson is without the injured Sammie Szmodics.

Northern Ireland captain and Birmingham City striker Simone Magill has announced she is pregnant.

The 31-year-old shared the news with her Birmingham team-mates on Wednesday and announced it on social media along with her husband, Mark.

“Something tells me next year is going to be the best one yet,” Magill posted on Instagram.

Magill will not feature for Birmingham for the rest of the season or for Northern Ireland in the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, which begin in March.

WSL2 club Birmingham City say Magill will continue “light training” with the team and that the club’s medical and performance staff will support her “throughout her pregnancy and beyond”.

Amy Merricks, Magill’s head coach at Birmingham, said she would “make an amazing parent”.

“We’re looking forward to supporting her on this journey through her pregnancy and as her baby comes into the world, we’re excited to have a Bluenose baby,” Merricks said.

“We want to keep Si in and around the environment as much as possible.

“She wants to remain sharp and play a critical part in this season and we’re looking forward to supporting her with her journey.”

Magill missed Northern Ireland’s Nations League play-off defeat by Iceland at the end of October and last played for Birmingham in September because of a hip issue.

She won the first of her 95 NI caps as a teenager in 2010 and was named captain by Tanya Oxtoby in October 2024.

Magill played a key role in Northern Ireland’s qualification for Euro 2022 – her country’s first major tournament – but sustained a knee injury in the first match against Norway.

Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher says players must fulfil their individual responsibilities better if the squad is to bounce back in their three home autumn internationals after losing to New Zealand in Chicago.

The All Blacks secured a 26-13 comeback win over Andy Farrell’s side at Soldier Field, with the Irish now set to face Japan on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, then Australia and South Africa at the same venue.

Tadhg Beirne had his initial yellow card after three minutes of the contest with New Zealand upgraded to a 20-minute red and although Ireland led 13-7 early in the second half, a flurry of three tries in the space of 15 minutes in the final quarter of the game saw their opponents avenge their loss at the same venue nine years previously.

Beirne’s sanction was subsequently rescinded on appeal.

“Obviously it wasn’t what we wanted. We went there with a plan, but we obviously didn’t execute it,” said Kelleher.

“It was more us not doing our jobs to the best of our ability really and on the day, we weren’t good enough.

“I think it just came down to our execution on the day. We just got it wrong at times.”

Kelleher, who was called up to the British and Irish Lions squad in July, added that it was “particularly disappointing” to concede those three late tries after he had come on as a replacement for fellow Leinster player Dan Sheehan just after the hour mark.

“I came off the bench but it was difficult out there, we just didn’t get our dead stops. We didn’t manage to do what we said we were going to do, which was get two-man shots, slow up their breakdown with dominant collisions and we didn’t manage to do that.

“Then when they managed to get a bit of momentum on us, they managed to keep the foot on the throat and we couldn’t wrestle that momentum back.

“I think ultimately we have to take the learnings from the game and make sure we improve from here on in. We weren’t good enough for large parts, so I think it’s just back to the drawing board really.

“It’s up to each player individually to make sure that they’re doing the bit of extras, whatever needs to be done.”

England have been drawn with Spain in their qualifying group for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Spain beat the Lionesses in the 2023 World Cup final, but England gained revenge when they beat the world champions in the Euro 2025 final in July to retain their European title.

Iceland and Ukraine have also been placed in Group A3 alongside Sarina Wiegman’s side.

Qualifying for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, follows the same format as the Nations League and is split into three tiers.

Only the four group winners in League A will automatically qualify for the finals, with the remaining teams having to go through the play-offs for the remaining eight places.

Scotland have been paired with Belgium, Israel and Luxembourg in Group B4, while Wales will face the Czech Republic, Albania and Montenegro in Group B1.

Northern Ireland have been placed in Group B2 with Switzerland, Turkey and Malta, and the Republic of Ireland are in Group A2 alongside the Netherlands, France and Poland.

The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays, on a home and away basis, during 2026, starting on 3 March and finishing on 9 June.

Uefa has been allocated 11 places for the 32-team 2027 World Cup.

An additional European team could also qualify through Fifa’s intercontinental play-offs.

Earlier this year, a trailer for a film called Dear Erin appeared in cinemas featuring bloody-knuckled, flat-capped “Paddy” penning a letter on a table strewn with empty porter and whiskey glasses to Erin, his long-lost American flame. Much online brouhaha and frustration ensued at yet another Hollywood misrepresentation of modern day Ireland. The trailer was eventually revealed to be an elaborate ruse by Epic, the Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin, to call out the tired stereotypes and “to find out who the Irish really are”.

Ireland, and the Irish, are many things. The country’s economic and social structures have changed rapidly in recent decades but that doesn’t necessarily mean the culture has altered unrecognisably. What has changed is the increasing draw to connect with Ireland’s natural landscapes. Writers such as the late Tim Robinson, Manchán Magan and the popular podcaster Blindboyboatclub have been pivotal in mining the connection between the natural world and the country’s past. The Irish language has seen a renaissance in the past few years for the same reason. In his 2020 bestselling book Thirty-Two Words for Field, Magan writes: “Irish has a rich store of words that offers a more soulful and nature-connected way of seeing the world. It lets you live more deeply in your environment.”

To test Magan’s hypothesis, I travelled with my family to the Fanad peninsula in the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area of County Donegal this summer. The bilingual road sign that welcomed us to Fanad/Fánaid immediately delivered a geographical context, fána being the Irish word for sloping ground. Knockalla mountain (Cnoc Colbha – the hill of the edge) loomed to the east, calling to mind images of the ice sheets that carved the ridge along the twin peaks about 14,000 years ago.

The ice age also had an impact on Fanad’s coast. The rocks that still line the foreshores of its pristine beaches were left behind by retreating glaciers and pounded ever since by the North Atlantic to make sand. We sought out one of those white beaches at Ballyhiernan Bay (Bá Bhaile Uí Thiarnáin – the townland of Tiarnán). My phone offered no details of shadowy Tiarnán’s biography, but I wanted to find out more about why a whole bay was named after him – Robinson was right: “place names tell stories”. We were alone on the beach, our only company the swallows that surfed the air currents above the crashing waves. My 16-year-old son and I had spent the past year attending “pop-up Gaeltachts” in Dublin pubs in preparation for his stint working at an Irish college, a rite of passage for Irish teenagers, yet the Irish word for swallow eluded him. It is fáinleog, probably from fán meaning to wander or to leave, perfectly capturing the penchant of these summer visitors for travelling to Africa in the winter.

The process of anglicising Irish place names began in the early 19th century, following the 1800 Act of Union, with towns being renamed as part of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which began in 1824. This act of cultural erasure was soon followed by the great famine, from 1845 to 1852, which decimated the Irish-speaking population. In 1980, decades before the recent resurgence of interest in Ireland’s linguistic past, the Donegal playwright Brian Friel mined this pivotal era for his 1833-set opus Translations. The play’s erudite schoolmaster Hugh, who refers to Irish as “a syntax opulent with tomorrows”, might have smiled warmly at the idea of musicians such as CMAT, Fontaines DC and Kneecap releasing songs in the language nearly two centuries later.

Settling in for our stay at a cottage within the grounds of Fanad lighthouse, the view from our sitting room looked west to the towering cliffs of Tory Island (Toraigh – place of steep rocky heights), another far-flung corner where the native language maintains a grip, and famous for having a king until 2018. Ascending the vertiginous steps to the lantern room afforded us an even better view, with Malin Head (Cionn Mhálanna – high headland), Ireland’s most northerly tip, clearly visible across Lough Swilly (Loch Súilí – lake of eyes or shadows). The enormous expanse of sea to the north created a sense of the earth’s curvature, and Scotland and Iceland seemed almost within reach, somewhere in the distance.

The next morning, while kayaking under the nearby cliffs and blowholes with knowledgable local guide Hugh Hunter, oystercatchers dived overhead, calling out angrily as we paddled by their nesting grounds. These black and white seabirds with orange, chisel-like beaks migrate here from the neighbouring Nordic countries every autumn. My son is none the wiser about the Irish for oystercatcher: Roilleach an Giolla Brighde, meaning the servant of Saint Brigid. The story goes that Ireland’s patroness saint was hidden from an angry mob by a flock of oystercatchers who covered her in seaweed.

That afternoon, we joined the throng in the Lighthouse Tavern to watch the All-Ireland football final between Donegal and Kerry. There was a loud cheer in a mixture of Irish and English each time the home team scored. At half-time we joined a group of local teenagers as they discussed their impending university courses in Dublin. I wondered how their lives would change and who among them might come back, like the swallows and oystercatchers, to this far-flung peninsula.

Later in the week, stopping for directions to Port Na Ling (harbour of the ships) beach, a local man engaged us in conversation, explaining he hadn’t spoken a word of English until he went to secondary school. He pointed out the house where he grew up with 11 siblings, among a constellation of white-washed bungalows on the hillside the other side of Mulroy Bay (An Mhaoil Rua – meaning the bare hill). Ireland’s pre-famine, largely rural population, peaked at about 8.2 million and a sense of how the country’s built environment looked back then is somehow still tangible in many coastal Donegal communities. Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair – estuary of water), an hour away to the west, is described as one of Europe’s most densely populated rural areas. In the aftermath of the famine, people in Donegal largely survived by travelling to Scotland as potato pickers, and this seasonal work allowed the county’s population to remain relatively buoyant, with locals returning home in the winter months rather than emigrating permanently.

We finished our time in Fanad by following the Way of the Cross up Knockalla to an outdoor altar with three crosses looking out across the peninsula. Blindboyboatclub explains that “the Irish landscape itself acts as a storyteller, whispers tales of the past”. The pathway we had just ascended has been a place of spiritual significance for millennia, long before being co-opted by Christianity. The many standing stones and ancient sites strewn across the fields are signifiers of a secret history. We were the only people to climb the mountain that morning, and what a privilege to have this sacred site to ourselves.

Our time in Fanad had been a portal to viewing the landscape afresh. Magan was right: the Irish language is an extraordinary conduit to the past and offers us a better understanding of the present.

Two-night stays at Fanad lighthouse from €350. Kayak trips with Eco Atlantic Adventures from €35pp. Further information: tourismireland.com

Ireland’s 40-29 win in Chicago nine years ago was one of the apogees in the team’s history, while the intensity and stakes of the World Cup quarter-final extracted herculean efforts from both sides in what is widely considered the rivalry’s apex.

But Saturday’s entry did not resemble either of those games.

Neither team reached anywhere near their maximum, and with a raft of protracted stoppages for tackle reviews and injuries, it failed to deliver an interest-generating spectacle in a country which is hosting the World Cup in six years.

Ultimately, New Zealand will not care. For them, a long-awaited fifth Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere remains in play after a second-half surge that yielded three tries in 15 minutes.

Ireland, however, have much to stew on.

Last year, they opened their autumn campaign with a loss to the All Blacks. Their performance in Dublin that night was one of the flattest of the Farrell era and they were not much better here.

There were, at least, some positives. They responded strongly to Tadhg Beirne’s highly controversial early red card to lead 10-0 thanks to a Jack Crowley penalty and Tadhg Furlong’s first try since 2021.

Elsewhere, Stuart McCloskey, a surprise inclusion at inside centre, shone in his first appearance against the All Blacks before being forced off injured, while Ryan Baird staked his claim to be a regular fixture in the back row.

But while they led for 57 minutes, Ireland never seemed fully in control. Having lost a tenacious operator in Beirne, they were bested at the breakdown and missed crucial tackles, while a creaky lineout blunted their ability to create opportunities and ramp up scoreboard pressure.

Reuters

‘Woman with a very independent mind’

Catherine Connolly, a pro-Palestine, left-wing candidate, is on course for a landslide victory as vote counting continues.

Left-wing independent candidate Catherine Connolly is set to become Ireland’s next president after her rival conceded defeat.

Vote counting in the presidential election was still under way on Saturday, but Heather Humphreys of the centre-right Fine Gael party told reporters she “wanted to congratulate Catherine Connolly on becoming the next president of Ireland”.

“Catherine will be a president for all of us, and she will be my president, and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best,” Humphreys said.

Voting slips were being counted by hand with the final result of Friday’s election expected to be declared later on Saturday once all 43 electoral constituencies across the country have completed counting.

Polls had suggested consistent and strong voter support for Connolly, 68, over her rival Humphreys, 64.

Deputy Prime Minister and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris also was quick to wish Connolly “every success”, adding: “She will be President for all this country.”

“Her success will be Ireland’s success,” he posted on X.

Connolly, a former barrister and independent lawmaker since 2016, has been outspoken in criticising Israel over its war in Gaza and has garnered the backing of a range of left-leaning parties, including Sinn Fein, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats.

Her campaign was especially popular among young people, who approved of her strong pro-Palestine stance and her commitment to social justice, among other issues.

Connolly and Humphreys were the only contenders after Jim Gavin, the candidate for Prime Minister Micheal Martin’s Fianna Fail party, quit the race three weeks before the election over a long-ago financial dispute. Martin had backed Gavin in the race.

While Irish presidents represent the country on the world stage, host visiting heads of state and play an important constitutional role, they do not have the power to shape laws or policies.

The winner will succeed Michael D Higgins, who has been president since 2011, having served the maximum two seven-year terms.

If confirmed, Connolly will be Ireland’s 10th president and the third woman to hold the post.

The NI squad she has returned to is markedly different to the one she was last included in a year and a half ago, given the influx of younger players.

That was necessitated by the retirements of Marissa Callaghan, Rachel Furness and Rachel Dugdale.

The only centurion in the current panel, McFadden knew her biggest selling point for getting back into the squad at this later stage of her career was the experience she has, and she hopes to pass on wisdom gained from over 20 years of playing to the younger generation.

“That is what I was saying when I was pleading my case to Tanya. I’ve always got that [experience], even if I’m not fit, I will always do the best for Northern Ireland and our group,” she added.

“I hope I’ve helped them this week, especially Abi Sweetlove. She’s at the start of her career, she’s unbelievable centre-half, she’s the future and hopefully I’ll be able to help her along because I have done it many a time and someone helped me along, so I want to help them.”

So, up next for McFadden and NI is building on a positive second-half display in Ballymena as they go to Reykjavik on Tuesday aiming to overturn the two-goal deficit.

The odds are against Oxtoby’s side given they failed to have a shot on target in the first leg, but McFadden still thinks they have an opportunity if they go there confident.

“We need a little bit more belief. We were able to get in their final third a bit more second half and with the belief, we have a chance.

“If we score early, they’re the big fish with the pressure on and hopefully we get a performance again.”

A British soldier charged with murder over the Bloody Sunday massacre has been acquitted by a Belfast court, in a verdict condemned by victims’ relatives and Northern Ireland’s political leader.

The former British paratrooper, known as Soldier F under a court anonymity order, was accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney and attempting to murder five others when soldiers opened fire on unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Derry more than 50 years ago.

Belfast Crown Court was silent on Thursday as Judge Patrick Lynch read the verdict acquitting Soldier F of two charges of murder and five of attempted murder. Soldier F listened to the verdict from behind a thick blue curtain, hidden from view in the packed courtroom.

On January 30, 1972, British paratroopers opened fire on unarmed civil rights protesters as more than 10,000 people marched in Derry. British soldiers shot at least 26 unarmed civilians. Thirteen people were killed, while another man died from his injuries four months later.

The massacre became a pivotal moment in the Troubles, helping to fuel nearly three decades of violence between Irish nationalists seeking civil rights and a united Ireland, pro-British unionists wanting Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom, and the British Army. A 1998 peace deal largely ended the bloodshed.

Lynch said in his verdict that he was satisfied that soldiers had lost all sense of military discipline and opened fire with intent to kill and that “those responsible should hang their heads in shame”.

But he said the case fell short of the burden of proof.

“Delay has, in my view, seriously hampered the capacity of the defence to test the veracity and accuracy of the hearsay statements,” he said.

An initial investigation into the massacre — the Widgery Tribunal, an investigation held in 1972 — largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of responsibility.

A second investigation, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry, found in June 2010 that there had been no justification for any of the shootings and found that paratroopers had fired at fleeing unarmed civilians.

Following the Saville Inquiry, police in Northern Ireland launched a murder investigation, with prosecutors finding that one former soldier would face trial for two murders and five attempted murders.

Prosecutors have previously ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge 16 other former British soldiers.

Soldier F was not called to give evidence during the one-month trial that was heard without a jury. He had previously told investigators he no longer had a reliable recollection of the massacre.

Mickey McKinney, brother of William McKinney, one of the two victims named in the case, denounced the verdict outside the courtroom on Thursday.

“Soldier F has been discharged from the defendant’s criminal dock, but it is one million miles away from being an honourable discharge,” McKinney said. “Soldier F created two young widows on Bloody Sunday, he orphaned 12 children, and he deprived dozens of siblings of a loving brother,”

McKinney said he “firmly” blamed the British government for the trial’s outcome.

“The blame lies firmly with the British state, with the RUC [the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Irish police], who failed to investigate the murders on Bloody Sunday properly, or indeed at all,” McKinney said.

Following Thursday’s verdict, a spokesperson for the UK government said the UK is “committed to finding a way forward that acknowledges the past, whilst supporting those who served their country during an incredibly difficult period in Northern Ireland’s history”.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who is vice president of the Sinn Fein pro-Irish unity party, called the verdict “deeply disappointing”.

“The continued denial of justice for the Bloody Sunday families is deeply disappointing,” she wrote on X. “Not one British soldier or their military and political superiors has ever been held to account. That is an affront to justice.”

Former Ireland star Conor Murray says the “shackles are off” as he launches a new BBC Sounds podcast – the Ireland Rugby Social.

Murray, who won international 125 caps, will join BBC Sport NI’s Gavin Andrews to give his unique insight into the mindset of a professional athlete as Ireland gear up for the autumn internationals and the 2026 Six Nations.

Each week, Murray will sit down with players, coaches and rugby insiders to dive into the sport’s biggest stories as Ireland face New Zealand, Japan, Australia and South Africa this autumn, before the Six Nations kicks off next year.

With five Six Nations titles and two United Rugby Championships with Munster, the three-time British and Irish Lion is uniquely placed to go beyond the headlines – and he says: “I can say what I want.”

“As a player you are always worried about protecting the team or the coach, or saying something the coach might not agree with after,” said Murray.

“But now the shackles are off. Now you can speak your mind and say things how you see it.”

Every Tuesday there will be podcast with a special guest who will offer their own insight into their life in rugby, whether that is playing, coaching or a role you may not know about.

Additionally, throughout November and Six Nations there will be a second podcast reflecting on the game that’s just been played and a look ahead at what is to come.

“Rugby has been such a big part of my life for so long, so I think staying connected to it is probably a good idea,” Murray added.

“I can give some insight, get some guests with some interesting stories – stories that you maybe haven’t heard before.

“I know the guests we have will be able to relax and tell us their true thoughts and stories.”

You can catch a first teaser episode here, or search Ireland Rugby Social on BBC Sounds to listen to every episode and subscribe.

Hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters clashed with Irish police outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Dublin on Tuesday, setting a police vehicle on fire and launching fireworks at officers.

Tuesday’s protest comes nearly two years after violent anti-immigration riots broke out in central Dublin.

At least 1,000 protesters have clashed with police in southwest Dublin, throwing bottles and launching fireworks at authorities during anti-immigration demonstrations sparked by allegations of an attack on a young girl.

Protesters came out in droves after a report that a 26-year-old man had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl on the grounds of the Citywest Hotel, which houses asylum applicants in Saggart, southwest of the Irish capital.

The unnamed man, who appeared in court on Tuesday, was charged in connection with the sexual assault.

Local media reported that the man, who asked for a Romanian interpreter in court, was an asylum seeker. Police have not confirmed his ethnicity.

The young girl was reportedly under the care of the state at the time of the incident. Tusla, Ireland’s child and family agency, said the girl “absconded” during a trip to the city centre and was reported missing.

The protests, held near the grounds of the hotel on Tuesday, turned violent, with anti-immigrant protesters launching fireworks at police, carrying signs that read “Irish lives matter”, and chanting, “Get them out!”

A police van was set on fire as officers charged at protesters, using pepper spray to push them away from the hotel complex, the news agency AFP reported.

“The weaponising of a crime by people who wish to sow dissent in our society is not unexpected,” Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said in response to the protests. “This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response.”

Earlier in the day, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said the events were “extremely serious and very, very grave”.

Tuesday’s protests come nearly two years after riots broke out in central Dublin in November 2023, after three children were injured in a knife attack outside a school. At the time, police identified the suspect as a man in his 50s from Algeria.

A far-right mob, comprised of at least 100 people, took to the streets of Dublin in the aftermath of the stabbing, torching vehicles and attacking riot police. Some were armed with metal bars and had their faces covered.

Police said that more than 400 officers, including many in riot gear, were deployed to contain the unrest, which they said was “caused by a small group of thugs”. At least thirty-four people were arrested following the rampage.

While Ireland is unique in that it has no far-right members of Parliament, Ireland and the United Kingdom have seen rising anti-immigration sentiment in recent years. Anti-immigration protests across Northern Ireland in June escalated into clashes with police.

Those protests began in Ballymena, a town of about 31,000 people, located 40km (25 miles) northwest of the city of Belfast, when two Romanian 14-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

During that unrest, hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set buildings and cars on fire.

The nervy win in Dublin moves the Republic of Ireland up to third in Group F, a point behind Hungary, who boosted their chances of securing a play-off place with a dramatic late draw against Portugal.

The group is delicately poised with two games remaining. If Hungary beat Armenia in their next game, the Republic of Ireland must earn at least a point to take the battle for second place into their trip to Budapest on 16 November.

The Republic of Ireland’s chances have twice been hit by late goals during this window, having conceded a 91st-minute Ruben Neves goal in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon.

However, Azaz hopes the Irish players can build on that performance and Tuesday’s crucial win in their quest to upset Cristiano Ronaldo and co in Dublin on 13 November.

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we’ll take confidence from last week and this game and we’ll be confident we can do something special,” Azaz added.

“It’s going to be a big occasion, we saw the last game we can compete and they’re top players, but we have to be able to compete and no doubt we’ll be right up for it.”

Armenia boss Yegishe Melikyan said Barseghyan apologised to his team-mates after the game.

“Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake,” said Melikyan.

“He took responsibility. He said sorry to the whole dressing room. But, if a player makes a mistake, it is also my mistake and for that I apologise.

“If there was no red card and we played 11 v 11, I think we could have got a good result. I thought we could have won, but we must go forward and I think we can get good results in the near future.”

Manager Michael O’Neill felt had Northern Ireland beaten Germany at Windsor Park in World Cup qualifying on Monday night that they would have been in a “strong position to achieve something amazing”.

It was not to be with Nick Woltemade’s somewhat fortuitous goal the difference between the two sides in Belfast.

When the dust settles on a window during which his young side also beat Slovakia 2-0 on Friday, O’Neill will surely feel encouraged that such a possibility remains on the table as he seeks to take the side to the game’s biggest stage for the first time in four decades.

For the second time in five weeks, Northern Ireland’s players left the field against the four-time World Cup winners believing they could and perhaps should have taken something from the game.

In Cologne last month, it took until after the 70th minute before the visitors tired and quick-fire goals from Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz secured an unconvincing 3-1 win.

Back in Belfast on Monday night, it was Northern Ireland who finished the stronger of the sides, but they could not find an equaliser during a final 25 minutes played largely in Germany’s third of the pitch.

The result ends any realistic chance of O’Neill’s side topping Group A, but the performance, allied with wins in their other two matches to date, means they can have real belief that they can both make and then succeed in the play-offs.

A draw in next month’s seemingly crunch fixture in Slovakia followed by a win over Luxembourg, provided as O’Neill put it “Germany take care of business at home when they play Slovakia” in the final matchday, would be enough for second place.

Even should that not come to pass, there remains a likely backdoor into the play-offs as an otherwise unqualified group winner from last year’s Nations League, although that would potentially mean a considerably stronger opponent in an away semi-final.

“We’ve gained some momentum and picked up some good results,” said defender Paddy McNair, one of two players in O’Neill’s current squad who played for Northern Ireland in their last major tournament at Euro 2016.

“If I was the opposition, I would not like to face us in the play-offs.

“It’s pretty hard to finish first now, but I think we have to get to Slovakia and get three points and you just never know what could happen going into the last game.”

Despite the loss, and his frustration, O’Neill still had time for a joke with a member of the German media.

“Having looked at the stats, ironically Germany played more long balls than us in the game,” he said.

For his part, Julian Nagelsmann, whose comments after the reverse fixture in Cologne prompted O’Neill’s quip, was relieved to get through a “tough” game.

“The second half was all about defending,” Nagelsmann told BBC Sport.

“As I said before the game it was a really tough opponent, a lot of long balls and they fight and we had to fight as well.

“It was a good step in the right direction to beat a team like Northern Ireland and to fight for second balls and be as tough as the opponent.”

Top spot in Group A is now a long shot given Germany have put their grasp on automatic qualification.

But second place and a guaranteed play-off is still on the cards ahead of November’s two qualifiers in Slovakia and home to bottom side Luxembourg.

It may not be much consolation now, but a play-off as one of four Nations League group winners seems to be a more secure fall back given other results across Europe, if Northern Ireland were to miss out on the top two.

So, after battling but falling short against one of Europe’s giants, this young Northern Ireland side may be down, but they are definitely not out.

Portugal maintain winning record in qualifying despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half penalty miss against Ireland.

Portugal’s Ruben Neves scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win over Ireland, which preserved Portugal’s 100 percent record in World Cup qualifying Group F and consolidated the top spot.

Portugal moved to nine points at the halfway stage of the campaign, with a five-point lead over second-placed Hungary, who they host on Tuesday, when they could secure qualification.

Neves headed home a minute into added time on Saturday at the Estadio Jose Alvalade for his first international goal.

It was a poignant tribute to close friend Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident in July and whose No 21 jersey Neves wore in Portugal’s first home game since the Liverpool player’s death.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved earlier in the match as Ireland threatened to hold the hosts to a draw, but the late strike kept the Irish at the bottom of the standings with one point.

Follow our live build-up, with team news, ahead of our full text commentary stream of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier.

Now, the side face the prospect of taking on the group favourites without their best player.

Bradley, who has also been booked three times in five Premier League appearances this term, was shown his second yellow card of the qualifying campaign in the 76th minute for a tackle on Lukas Haraslin.

O’Neill described the decision as “extremely disappointing” and felt his player had tried to pull out of the challenge.

“There were worse tackles in the game and one just before that was particularly poor on Isaac Price that the referee let go,” he said. “To produce a yellow card for that was disappointing.”

Speaking on BBC Sport NI, former Northern Ireland and Leeds United defender Stuart Dallas said Bradley had given “the referee a decision to make” but agreed with his old international boss that the decision ultimately was harsh.

If not for the resulting suspension, it would have been a mere footnote in an otherwise excellent performance.

Bradley was one of four players in the starting XI who went into the game knowing a booking would rule them out of Monday’s game, but Hume said they do not wish to curb his aggressive edge.

“We spoke before the game about the boys who were on yellows trying not to get one, but it’s one of those things,” he explained.

“You can’t go into a game trying not to get booked. You’ve got to play to your strengths.

“He’s full throttle. He’s 100% all the time.”

Since making his full Premier League debut in January 2024, Bradley has started 15 of his country’s 17 games, missing only the friendlies against Sweden and Switzerland in March.

Quite how to compensate for his loss gives O’Neill yet another thing to consider as he plots how to pull off what would be the biggest result of his second spell in charge.

While there is no like-for-like replacement in the squad, Oxford United’s Brodie Spencer figures to fill the void at right wing-back against the four-time World Cup winners.

“You’ve seen Brodie play left wing-back, right wing-back, he’s even played in a back three. We know how strong and athletic he is,” added Hume.

“Obviously Conor is going to be a big miss, but we’re a big group, we’re a strong team and we’re all together.

“It’s something we have to deal with and we’ll be ready.”

O’Neill admired the performance of his young side, who have made a superb start to qualifying.

A win in Luxembourg was followed by an hour of matching European heavyweights Germany, who eventually prevailed to win 3-1.

Friday’s win was superb from first minute to last. A Patrik Hrosovsky own goal broke the deadlock before Hume’s superb effort with just under 10 minutes left made sure – but was it the best under O’Neill?

“I don’t really look at games like that because teams evolve,” O’Neill said when asked if it was the most complete performance since his return in 2023 for a second spell in charge.

The Germany fixture will be his 100th game as Northern Ireland boss.

“The team when I came back in is very different to the team now,” O’Neill said. “They have given other good performances, like at home here to Bulgaria [a 5-0 win in October 2024] when we were excellent.

“I think tonight was a team of a higher calibre as well, so you can say it is one of the best performances we’ve had, but I still think there is more in the tank, and I think the players believe that as well.”

O’Neill was also full of praise for Hume, who has moved up the leagues with Sunderland and is now a Premier League regular.

The defender’s goal had come after the in-form David Strelec poked an effort wide for Slovakia. In the past, when there felt like an inevitability that the opposition would hit back, Hume’s effort changed that narrative.

“We deserved to be more than one goal ahead with how the game had gone, but we needed that second goal,” said O’Neill.

“Slovakia are a good team and are very experienced at international level, and it only takes a moment.

“They did have that chance and they missed it. As a young team you can lose confidence and momentum in that situation, but when the second goal went in – and it was a great finish – it was great for him as he’s such an important player for us.”