On Sunday 14 October 2021, the Republic of Ireland senior men's football team ran out 3-0 winners against Luxembourg in the last round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying Group A in Europe.
The result means that both teams finish on 9 points, but Ireland finish higher than their hosts in the final table due to their superior goal difference.
The first half was a tense affair, with the game played at a frantic pace. Midfield was cluttered at times; whenever the ball went wide, both teams sensed chances were coming their way. But all that happened up to half time were a couple of yellow cards for the Red Devils, as a result of defensive tackles that could otherwise have seen the visitors race clear. However, although Ireland had looked the more threatening, the teams were level on the scoreboard after the first 45 minutes.
The second half started with Luxembourg seeming to be the more threatening, and were frustrated when they though they had gone ahead, but for the linesman to flag for offside. With just a quarter of the match to play, Shane Duffy put the visitors ahead on 67 minutes when he rose above the Luxembourg defence to head home the opener. Just eight minutes later, Chiedozie Ogbene doubled Ireland's lead after a smartly-worked move, with Callum Robinson netting the thirds with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
Ireland had avenged their shock home defeat to Luxembourg earlier in the campaign and ended their qualification group matches on a high. While Stephen Kenney's position as manager now seems to be safe, the same could not be said earlier, following a disastrous start to the campaign for Ireland. Meanwhile, Luxembourg's pedigree rose during the campaign as they finished with a record 9 points from their qualifying pool.
In the other game in the group, Serbia pulled off a shock 2-1 win away to Portugal in Lisbon to top the group and qualify automatically for Qatar 2022, while Portugal will have to play-off in March to determine if they join Serbia at the World Cup finals.
