John Fallon: Anatomy of Ireland's World Cup dream being crushed

John Fallon distils the series of misfortunate events at the Fortuna Arena, any one of which might have led to a showdown on home soil last night.

Troy Parrott of Republic of Ireland after the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers play-off semi-final. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

If time is supposed to be a healer, don’t expect Ireland's agony arc to taper off come June.

Either side of the bank holiday weekend, they’ll be providing opposition to Qatar and co-hosts Canada as warm-up acts for the World Cup.