Goals from Nikola Krstovic and Ivan Vukcevic in the opening 10 minutes put Montenegro in front. This forced Jim Crawford’s Ireland U21 side to chase the game. They almost turned it around too with Mark McGuinness forcing Ognjen Obradovic into scoring an own goal before Conor Coventry saw a late penalty kick saved.

This loss now drops Ireland to fourth place in the group, four points off leaders Sweden. They do still have a game in hand but will be in dire need of a win.

Having beaten Luxembourg in Tallaght Stadium last week, confidence was high in the Irish squad.  Instead, they got caught early on with Krstovic scoring after just three minutes.

The tricky attacker raced onto a through ball before rounding the goalkeeper Brian Maher, slotting the ball home.

Montenegro doubled their advantage following a quick, incisive move. A deflected cross from the flank was dummied by Ivan Vukcevic but Krstovic quickly touched the ball back into his path and from a tight angle, the forward blasted it into the roof of the net.

For a brief moment just past the half an hour mark, Ireland thought they had conceded a third but they were relieved to see that Krstovic’s powerful finish with his head was correctly disallowed as he was stood in an offside position.

Ireland grew into the match following that let off but they couldn’t get the goal to half the deficit before the interval as Will Ferry saw a lob deflect just wide before his crossfield pass picked out Alex Gilbert, whose low drive from the edge of the box was saved.

They remained on top throughout the second 45 but it wasn’t until the 73rd minute that they gave themselves hope.

McGuinness reacted well to head home after the Montenegrins failed to deal with an in-swinging corner.

Substitute JJ Kayode almost nodded in a leveler within seconds of coming on but he could only turn Ferry’s cross wide of the near post.

After Ross Tierney and Kayode were denied what looked like certain penalties, Ireland was finally awarded a spot-kick in the 83rd minute when Jake O’Brien was fouled inside the area.

But Coventry couldn’t convert his second penalty in a few days. The Montenegro keeper made a great save low to his left to secure their win.

Next up is a doubleheader against Italy and Sweden as Crawford’s team return to Tallaght Stadium next month.

Starting Teams:

Montenegro: Izevic; Pesukic, Perovic, Babic, Raznatovic; Krstovic, Janjic, Vukotic (Divanovic ht); Vukcevic (Obradovic 70), Sijaric, Krstovic (Kujovic 57).

Republic of Ireland: Maher; O’Connor, O’Brien, McGuinness, Bagan; Coventry, Kilkenny (Devoy 77), Tierney (Kayode 77); Gilbert (O’Neill 60), Ferry, Ferguson (Whelan 60).

To read more in-depth and up-to-date Irish and international football news, click here.

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Flick announced today that Rudiger is back in contention to play against North Macedonia after missing recent training sessions.

The former Roma player played all 90 minutes in Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Romania. After a stunning Ianis Hagi goal, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller spared the team’s blushes in a 2-1 win.

After that match, the Chelsea defender was absent from training over the weekend. Reports in Germany claimed that he was struggling with a back injury and would be doubtful to play.

In a pre-match press conference Flick told the media that Rudiger was undergoing treatment for a back problem but that it would not rule him out of Germany’s next match.

This is Rudiger playing in a back 4 pic.twitter.com/23H7q76MWC

— (@_NeverTakenAnL_) October 9, 2021

This will be great news for German and Chelsea fans as the 6’2” center-half is in the form of his life. He has shown that he is one of the best defenders in the world, being a major part of the Blues’ Champions League victory.

He is still yet to extend his contract at Chelsea with his deal running out in June. If the Stamford Bridge board cannot agree to make him the highest-paid defender in the league then he may still leave.

Some of Europe’s major teams have already started circling with rumors of Bayern Munich and PSG wanting the player. As it stands, the now Chelsea defender will focus on his next game for Germany.

Keep smiling …. always #Hustle #AlwaysBelieve pic.twitter.com/8PmRXgyEq6

— Antonio Rüdiger (@ToniRuediger) October 5, 2021

Die Mannschaft will travel to North Macedonia for their upcoming game in the World Cup qualifiers. This top-of-the-table clash kicks off tonight, 11th October at 19:45 in Skopje. It will also be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League Ireland.

To read more in-depth and up-to-date club and international football news, click here.

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St. Patrick’s Athletic’s Brian Moore hit a second-half hat-trick as Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-16s recorded a stunning 6-0 win over Malta.

Moore was introduced at half-time and was ruthless in front of goal for Paul Osam’s side as Ireland scored five second-half goals.

Bohemians’ Nickson Okosun netted a brace and Chelsea’s Michael Golding scored his first goal for Ireland with a fine top corner finish.

Osam handed the captaincy to Shamrock Rovers’ Cory O’Sullivan and introduced them to the starting line-up goalscorers from Tuesday’s game, Cian Morling, and Okosun.

Ireland got the breakthrough in the 25th minute. Morling was brought down in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Okosun cooly stroked the ball into the bottom corner, sending Malta goalkeeper Jake Scicluna the wrong way.

At half-time, Moore was introduced for Morling, and Pat’s man would get the first of his three goals in the 49th minute with a clinical finish that went in off the post.

Four minutes later it was 3-0 to Ireland and Okosun had his second. Great work from Luke Kehir saw him round the goalkeeper and put it on a plate for a tap-in for Okosun, taking the Bohs’ striker’s tally for the week to three goals.

Michael Golding made it 4-0 in the 75th minute, turning sharply inside the box and finishing into the top left corner.

Moore got his second three minutes later when he finished at the front post from a Sean Hayden cross. He sealed his hat-trick in the final minute of the game when he capitalized on a mistake in the Malta defense to finish past the goalkeeper and complete the scoring for Ireland.

The win was their second in the week over their opponents and the Men’s Under-16s will turn their attention to the Victory Shield next month in Belfast.

Former academy player Cian scored for Republic of Ireland U16’s in their 0-3 win vs Malta U16’s top work big man! Keep it up!https://t.co/E7SsGN8g8k pic.twitter.com/yC6sBtEPuR

— Learn Play Achieve Academy (@LPAacademy) September 22, 2021

Malta

Scicluna (GK); Fardell, Previi, K. Farrugia, Debono, Okeke; Zammit, B. Farrugia; Hudson, Delicata (C), Bugeja.
Substitutions: Gaela (GK), Briffa, Carabott, Zammit, Cassar, Mattocks, Agius, J Azzopardi, I. Azzopardi.

Republic of Ireland:

Maher (GK); O’Sullivan (C) (Hayden, 70), Jakas, Swieczka (Sheeran, 70); Razi (Cannon, 55), Kehir (Mackey, 70), Healy, Golding, O’Halloran (Turley, 70) ; Morling (Moore 41), Okosun (Kone Doherty, 55).

Ireland Men’s U16 Head Coach Paul Osam has named a squad of 20 for friendlies against Malta next week.

All players are in line for their international debuts

21/09 | v
23/09 | v

Full details https://t.co/zqyzdOqQKm#IRLU16 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/275mx1dPTe

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) September 18, 2021

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The game will kick off at 7:45 pm and will take place at the Estadio Algarve – no away fans are permitted to attend, under UEFA rules.

The Republic of Ireland have had a rough start to their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, with losses to Serbia and Luxembourg putting them on the back foot after only two games.

Portugal, on the other hand, are top of Group A after three games after two wins and one draw – the draw being against Serbia.

Ireland called up a 25-man squad for the international break and a strong eleven is expected to be crafted from it tonight.

Caoimhin Kelleher and Gavin Bazunu are both available for selection between the sticks and head coach Stephen Kenny could choose either one of them.

Norwich City defender Andrew Omobamidele could be in line to make his senior international debut tonight, potentially in a three-man defence.

Shane Duffy, John Egan and Ryan Manning are also available for selection for tonight’s fixture.

West from loanee Jayson Molumby and Anderlecht’s Josh Cullen are expected to appear in midfield for the side.

Kenny could opt for a young frontline with three forwards aged 21 and under called up for international duty.

Joao Felix and Renato Sanches were named in the Portugal squad for the September international break but are currently sidelined through injury.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit and looking to score the goal that will make him the stand-alone top goalscorer in international football – he is currently tied with Iran’s Ali Daei on 109.

Fellow Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes will also be available for tonight’s World Cup qualification clash.

It’s impossible to look past the quality of the Portuguese squad when considering the outcome of this encounter – it is unlikely Ireland will come away with a result.

Lineups
Portugal have wheeled out the artillery: Rui Patricio; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Joao Paulinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes; Diogo Jota, Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo

Odds

Portugal 1/7

Draw 11/2

Republic of Ireland 17/1

Where To Watch

The match will kick-off at 7:45 pm Irish Standard Time. It will be available to watch on RTÉ 2 with coverage starting at 7 pm. It will also be available to watch on Sky Sports Premier League at 7:30 pm.

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