That’ll be all from me. Here’s a round-up of tonight’s qualifying action. Bye!
Finally, Mick McCarthy talks:
Obviously disappointed that we lost. We went to sleep and conceded a bad goal, so I’m disappointed with that. Overall very pleased with the performance, very proud of the players and immensely proud of the reaction after conceding, and pushing them right to the limit.
I said beforehand if my players, my team give me everything, I’ll take the result that comes. I’ve got to take the defeat, but they left everything and a bit more there. Play like that in the play-offs, then we can beat anybody. You just need that bit of luck. We had opportunities that we could have done better with, but I’m not going to criticise the lads. I think they’ve been terrific, I’m really proud of them. If we could have got that 15-minute onslaught, who knows? But it’s all hypothetical, and it didn’t happen. Between now and March I’ll be making sure they realise it has been a good campaign, and if we can play like that, why can’t we win in March? That was what I first said to them. We’re out of this, now let’s win the play-offs.
Matt Doherty has a chat now. He too had a fine game, capped with his first international goal:
We knew we had to win the game and we haven’t managed to do that, so even though we played well and restricted them to not much, it’s flat as a pancake right now. We had control of the game, it was wave after wave of attack. I wouldn’t say there were massive clear-cut chances but we all felt a goal was going to come. We were playing out from the back, our movement was good, the crowd was right behind us, everything looked like it was going to fall into place for us, but an individual mistake just deflated the whole place. It was a tough group and we went all the way with it. We just have to make sure we’re right for March. We gave absolutely everything. At the final whistle we all dropped to the floor. We just have to make sure everybody stays fit and healthy and we bring this kind of performance into March.
David McGoldrick, one of Ireland’s outstanding players tonight, has a chat:
It’s very difficult to take. We gave it our all, that’s what the manager asked for. I think we probably deserved to win the game. It’s heartbreaking. Now we’ve got to think about March. I had a few chances. I had a header that hit my shoulder, a chance I skied over, got to do better. As a striker I’ve got to do better, but what can I say? It’s heartbreaking. We’ve got to think, any way to qualify for these Euros. We’re a tough team to play against, I don’t think many people want to play against us. We haven’t conceded many goals. We haven’t been free-scoring. We’ve been hard to play against us. We’ve got to take that mentality, that desire, and the quality as well into March and we should be OK.
Here’s Paul Doyle’s match report:
In the end Ireland were not quite good enough to force a twist in a taut but predictable drama. They tried their damnedest but inspiration eluded them and then, in the 73rd minute, so did concentration. Martin Braithwaite stepped in to send Denmark to Euro 2020 with their first shot on target.
Matt Doherty headed an equaliser five minutes from time but the valiant hosts were to fall agonisingly short. Ireland may still reach the finals through play-offs in March. They could meet Bosnia, Wales, Slovakia or Northern Ireland depending on the result of Wales’s match against Hungary on Tuesday.
Much more here:
One reason why Duffy will be downhearted is that he is in large part responsible for the Denmark goal. He was standing five yards behind the rest of the Ireland back-line, and had his positioning been better Braithwaite would either have been offside, or unable to reach the cross.
Shane Duffy is sad:
Disappointing. I thought we were the better team, probably. One slip and it’s cost us on the night, which is disappointing. We believed that we could beat them, and we kept going til the end. We’ve got to pick ourselves back up, and a big game in March. They didn’t really create that many clear-cut chances, and we had a few. I had a feeling all game, that this was our game. It’s a hard one to take right now. We always believed. We’d scored a few late goals in this campaign already and we know we can score goals, but it wasn’t to be. We’ll do everything we can to get there in March.
Denmark will be in Pot 3 when the Euro 2020 draw is made on Saturday week. Here are the pots as they stand:
Quite a few teams are now locked in, including Portugal in Pot 3.
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) November 18, 2019
Pot 1: Italy, Belgium, England, Ukraine, Spain
Pot 2: Switzerland, Croatia, Russia
Pot 3: Portugal, Turkey, Austria, Denmark
Pot 4: Finland
Updated
Today was the third time in this qualifying campaign that Ireland scored an 85th-minute goal to come from behind and earn a 1-1 draw.
Ireland chucked ye olde kitchen sink at that one, but Denmark snaffled a goal with a rare foray forward and from there the home side had the proverbial mountain to climb. Several Irish players are on the turf at the end of the game, while Denmark go to celebrate their qualification for Euro 2020 with their fans.
Philippe’s got a point here:
4' 'minimum' added time in #IRLDEN. *Then* Schmeichel is booked for time-wasting. Yet the referee blows whistle at precisely 90 +4. Not that it would have changed much, but this is...irritating.
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) November 18, 2019
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Final score: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Denmark
90+4 mins: It’s all over! An excellent, rousing second-half performance from the Irish, but it’s the play-offs for them!
Updated
90+3 mins: Schmeichel takes a ludicrous amount of time over the goal kick, and as the referee books him for timewasting the keeper is hit on the head by a cigarette lighter thrown from the crowd. After some angry gesticulation, he plays on.
90+2 mins: Schmeichel hares out of his goal to claim a lofted cross but doesn’t! The ball bounces through to Stevens, who gets a bit overexcited and slams a shot high from a crazy angle.
90+1 mins: There will be four minutes of stoppage time. Can they? It starts with Doherty thumping a crossfield pass straight into touch.
90 mins: It’s not a great corner, and though Denmark don’t effectively clear it Stevens overhits his through-ball and the Danes have a goal kick.
89 mins: McGoldrick’s excellent cross is turned behind. Another corner!
87 mins: Denmark break, and a ball from the left bounces conveniently off Poulsen, who fell over at the crucial moment, to Eriksen. His first-time shot hits a defender, probably in the arm, but the referee waves play on!
Updated
GOAL! Republic of Ireland 1-1 Denmark (Doherty, 85 mins)
Ireland crank up the pressure, playing a succession of balls into the area that Denmark can’t properly clear. Finally, they produce a zinger. Stevens clips one to the far post, and Doherty slams his header into the ground and into the net!
Updated
84 mins: Denmark make their final change, bringing Christensen on for Schone.
83 mins: McClean’s 25-yarder rolls through to Schmeichel. Ireland are working up a nice head of steam here, but still no clear chances.
82 mins: Ireland bring Sean Maguire on for Whelan. The corner drops inside the six-yard box, but not at the foot of an Irishman.
81 mins: McGoldrick totally mistimes a header and shoulders the ball over the bar. The referee for some reason gives Ireland a corner.
81 mins: Ten minutes to play here, and Ireland need two goals. They do not look likely to get them, but then it only takes a second etc and so forth.
79 mins: Meanwhile in Palermo it’s Italy 9-1 Armenia, and with 10 minutes to go there’s a double-figure scoreline in the air.
78 mins: The referee gives a foul against James McClean, who is so furious about it he ends up with a yellow card as well.
76 mins: There have been two goals in a minute in Gibraltar, where Switzerland now lead 4-1. As it stands, Denmark top the group.
75 mins: That was Denmark’s first shot on target. Ireland have also had one. Two Denmark players fall into each other, and for some reason the referee gives them a free kick.
Updated
GOAL! Republic of Ireland 0-1 Denmark (Braithwaite, 73 mins)
From nowhere, a goal for Denmark! It’s a lovely left-footed, right-wing cross from Dalsgaard, and Braithwaite breaks the offside trap as the defence snoozes, sprints clear and flings out a leg to touch it past Randolph!
Updated
72 mins: Chance for Denmark! It’s their best passing move of the game, which ends with Dolberg being played through. Doherty, who is having an excellent game, gets back to nick the ball away from him, at which he flings himself to the turf in search of a penalty, which he doesn’t get.
68 mins: Ireland make their second change, bringing Robinson on for Hourihane.
67 mins: Half a chance for McGoldrick! He’s picked out by Stevens’ cross from the left, but his control isn’t good enough. No matter, the ball bounces back to him off a defender, but he spoons his half-volley high!
65 mins: They can’t make anything from it. Denmark are resolute, but really disarmingly short of ideas and quality.
65 mins: A better couple of minutes for the Danes ends with Ireland breaking forward and winning another corner.
61 mins: Clark wins the header again, but turns the ball well over the bar.
60 mins: McGoldrick does well to win Ireland another corner. Eriksen has barely touched the ball since half-time.
58 mins: Doherty’s nice run and pass leftwards creates a fine crossing opportunity for McClean, which he emphatically fails to grasp.
56 mins: And now it’s Gibraltar 0-3 Switzerland, Christian Fassnacht further extending the Swiss lead in the 57th minute.
55 mins: Whelan slides in to take the ball just ahead of Strygar Larsen, but follows through to take out the player as well and is booked.
54 mins: Switzerland now lead Gibraltar 2-0.
50. Tooooor für die Schweiz! Wieder Loris Benito und Ruben Vargas im Zusammenspiel. Flanke Benito - Abschluss Vargas - Die Schweiz führt 2:0! 🇨🇭👏#GIBSUI 0:2*#hoppschwiiz #hopsuisse #forzasvizzera #hopsvizra pic.twitter.com/Bk9vnHLRrK
— nationalteams_SFVASF (@SFV_ASF) November 18, 2019
53 mins: Denmark try to let the air out of Ireland’s freshly-inflated half-time balloon, passing the ball among themselves in their own half for a while.
51 mins: Ireland have started this half excellently.
Updated
49 mins: Ireland have already had more corners in this half than in the last one. From their first, Clark’s header is deflected over the bar. From the second, played short, Hourihane’s lovely ball in bounces across goal, just past two desperately-outflung Irish boots and away to safety!
Updated
47 mins: Poulsen takes out McClean on the left, and Ireland have a chance to whip a tasty ball into a crowded penalty area. But when the delivery comes, it’s poor.
46 mins: Peeeeeeep! Ireland are 45 minutes, one goal and a clean sheet away from Euro 2020.
The players are back out and ready for half two. Ireland are making a change, bringing Ciaran Clark on for John Egan.
“It’s an engaging enough drama so far, but when do or die is substituted with do or do it again, it lacks a certain edge,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “The Romans had it right: Kill the lion or be his lunch!” It’s certainly tempting to wonder how much better this match might be in a world without play-offs.
Half time: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Denmark
45+3 mins: The referee decides not to bother with the full three bonus minutes, and understandably. It is, for now, over.
45+2 mins: Hourihane’s corner is headed back out to him. He passes back to Whelan, whose lovely dipping, curling cross is only just too high for Duffy at the back stick. Goal kick.
Updated
45+1 mins: There will be three bonus minutes at the end of the first half. Ireland celebrate this by winning their first corner.
45 mins: Ireland concede a free kick, from which Denmark concede a free kick.
43 mins: Another shot! This time it’s from McGoldrick’s right boot, but Ireland’s shots are coming from further and further away from goal, and their aim becoming less and less true.
39 mins: Braithwaite pings a crossfield pass from left to right. Sadly there’s no Dane within 15 yards of it when it lands. Ireland throw-in. “I’m interested in how possession stats are calculated when no one knows how to control a football,” asks Philip Maddock. “Does time in the air count?”
37 mins: Another shot! Whelan’s long ball is nodded down by McGoldrick to Browne, whose 25-yard left-foot volley bounces wide!
34 mins: Chance! And the game’s first shot on target! McGoldrick’s pass is poor but the nearest defender falls over and misses the ball, allowing Hourihane to run onto it, burst into the area and shoot straight at Schmeichel from an unhelpful angle.
Updated
33 mins: Yellow card! Schone gets a booking for bringing down Browne. Meanwhile, Dolberg has replaced Cornelius. Denmark have just the one substitution left.
31 mins: Now Cornelius, having got over his head wound, pulls up, clutches a hamstring and immediately, being right by the tunnel at the time, leaves the pitch and vanishes from view.
28 mins: A bit of a delay, as Cornelius is treated for a head wound sustained in winning one of those headers. There has been blood.
26 mins: A shot! Eriksen hooks a volley goalwards after Schmeichel’s long clearance had been headed on twice, but Duffy gets in the way.
Updated
25 mins: Denmark have now touched the ball in the Ireland penalty area. It was from a corner, and the ball pinged off a couple of heads before bouncing to Randolph.
23 mins: “Schmeichel has been relatively untroubled so far,” says Sky’s commentator. Relatively? The lad’s had more stressful hotel breakfast buffets.
22 mins: The game is not as dull as the total absence of goalscoring chances might suggest, the jeopardy giving it a little extra frisson. “As a longtime expat I used to have the level of nerves JR describes, bunking off work to watch do-or-die matches in the then smoky pubs,” writes Patrick Carr. “Now it’s easier on the nerves. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s the 415 ways we can qualify for the Euros. Either way my advice to JR is to relax, it’s gonna be fine. If we lose tonight maybe the kids will get to play in the playoffs. I would very much like to see Maguire, Parrott and Connolly start together.”
19 mins: No shots yet. Or chances. Or touches by any player in the opposition penalty area (unless I’ve forgotten one).
16 mins: Mathias Jorgensen has had the ball for most of the last couple of minutes, assessing his options, slowly and deliberately passing it to a team-mate, getting it back again and repeating.
13 mins: Delaney’s night is over. Hojbjerg has replaced him.
Updated
13 mins: Apparently while Delaney received treatment David McGoldrick changed his shorts, and put the new pair on the wrong way round.
12 mins: There has been a goal in the night’s other game in this group, Cedric Itten putting Switzerland ahead against Gibraltar. As it stands the Swiss lead the group, ahead of Denmark with the Irish third.
10 mins: Delaney is on his feet, and is going to try to limp his injury off.
8 mins: Delaney goes down and stays down, after turning an ankle in challenging the opposition No8, Browne. Ireland leave him writhing and attack regardless, but Schmeichel claims the ball and boots it straight out of play.
6 mins: Denmark are pressing high when Randolph gets the ball, which does mean that a long punt forward leaves them dangerously undermanned, 3 v 3 at the back. Ireland try just such a ball, but it’s overhit and Schmeichel collects.
6 mins: Denmark have a spell of possession, but don’t get close to the Irish goal.
3 mins: Ireland have managed to keep the ball in Denmark’s half for pretty much the entire game so far, despite barely having the ball, by getting right in the face of any Dane unfortunate enough to find himself in possession.
1 min: Peeeeeep! Denmark get the game started!
“If I were in charge of the spread in the Ireland dressing room I would have laid out a platter of Danish pastries,” suggests Peter Oh. “Nothing gees up your team like symbolically devouring your opposition.” Perhaps, though you’d be well advised not to adopt the tactic before a game against Greece.
Exactly 10 years ago tonight, this happened. Will there be more qualifying heartbreak for Ireland tonight? We’re just a couple of anthems and an entire game of football away from finding out!
The players are in the tunnel! Ireland are 90 minutes from qualification. Can they grasp the hand of destiny?
“So old Mick McCarthy has ‘butterflies with boots on’?” writes JR. “Well I’m having kittens over here. And in the off moment when I’m not having kittens I’m bricking it. OK, break time’s over. I’ve got just under a half hour left to finish making room behind the couch.”
Updated
Christian Eriksen says “he’d rather play somebody else” than Ireland yet again:
We’ve been in Ireland a lot. Of course we’d rather play somebody else, but in the end it’s whoever we get drawn against.
Here are Mick McCarthy’s thoughts on this game:
This is the most important game a few of the lads might have played for Ireland and you need to take the chance when it comes around. There have been a few shouts of ‘go and make a name for yourself’ and there are players in our squad who can do that.
Much more here:
Ireland have gone for a clever split-table formation, opening up the midfield:
Updated
A glimpse inside Denmark’s changing room reveals fruit bowls, sports drinks and, er, blue toilet roll?
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The team news again, now with added handy Twitter graphics:
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Doherty, Duffy, Egan, Stevens, Browne, Hendrick, Whelan, Hourihane, McClean, McGoldrick. Subs: Kevin Long, Clark, Parrott, Cullen, Byrne, Brady, Robinson, James Collins, O’Hara, Maguire, Travers, Judge.
Denmark: Schmeichel, Dalsgaard, Jorgensen, Kjaer, Larsen, Schone, Braithwaite, Eriksen, Delaney, Poulsen, Cornelius. Subs: Andersen, Ronnow, Hansen, Dolberg, Hojbjerg, Norgaard, Ankersen, Knudsen, Gytkjaer, Christensen, Skov, Wass.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).
Fourth official: Marco Fritz (Germany).
Assistant referees: Mark Borsch (Germany), Stefan Lupp (Germany)
Uefa Delegate: Roland Tis (Belgium).
Here is how Ireland will line out tonight! #IRLDEN🇮🇪🇩🇰 #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/655sBVPrbu
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) November 18, 2019
Vores 11 startere til aftenens meget vigtige kamp mod Irland ✅
— Fodboldlandsholdene 🇩🇰 (@dbulandshold) November 18, 2019
Kom så, drenge!#ForDanmark #IRLDEN #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/mVT4aEdt6x
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The teams are in, and here are the starting XIs:
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Doherty, Stevens, Duffy, Egan, Whelan, Browne, McGoldrick, McClean, Hendrick, Hourihane.
Denmark: Schmeichel, Dalsgaard, Zanka, Kjær, Stryger, Schöne, Delaney, Eriksen, Poulsen, Cornelius, Braithwaite.
Here’s PA Media’s reaction:
David McGoldrick returned to the Republic of Ireland starting line-up for Monday night’s Euro 2020 decider against Denmark.
The Sheffield United striker, who missed last month’s double-header in Georgia and Switzerland through injury, was included in one of three changes to the side which lost 2-0 in Geneva as he, Matt Doherty and Conor Hourihane replaced Aaron Connolly, the suspended Seamus Coleman and James Collins.
Hello world!
M’learned friend Barry Glendenning, in his preview of this game, described the recent spate of Ireland-Denmark encounters as “a never-ending series of mind-numbingly tedious football matches”. So that’s encouraging, yes?
This will be the teams’ sixth meeting in the last two years plus a week, with the previous five ending, in order of excitement, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-1 and 1-5, with one rogue Christian Eriksen-inspired Denmark thumping in Dublin interrupting an otherwise humdrum sequence.
There is one decent cause for optimism: the Republic of Ireland must win. If they do, they qualify automatically for Euro 2020. If they don’t, they’ll have to play off. Unless they’re already winning, there will come a point where they have nothing to lose, and will boldly throw caution to the wind. Less encouragingly Denmark know a draw will see them safely through, either in first place (if Switzerland somehow fail to beat Gibraltar) or second (if they do), so have every reason to hold out for another goalless draw.
Anyway, a game of football to be played. It will probably be more fun than at least one and possibly all five of the Republic of Ireland-Denmark clashes in recent memory. So let’s gather round football’s glowing brazier and let the flickering flames of international qualifying football warm our hands and our spirits. Or something.
Here’s that preview in full:
Kick-off: 7.45pm GMT
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