A long way from Genoa as Packie Bonner recalls day a nation held its breath

In his role as a technical instructor for Uefa, Packie Bonner occasionally bumps into his work colleague Ioan Lupescu on the continent.

Twenty-five years ago today, on a sultry Monday at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, the two men had the eyes of the world upon them. The Republic of Ireland and Romania were gridlocked at 3-3 on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes in the last 16 of Italia 90.

Lupescu went high to Bonner’s right and although the Celtic goalkeeper got a stretching left hand to it, he couldn’t keep it out. Bonner smacked the turf with both hands in frustration.