Ireland finally showed up with some grit and uprightness but it simply wasn't enough as they got Serbed (ahem) a 1-0 defeat, thanks to a second half strike from Aleksandar Kolarov. Had they showcased the kind of character they put on display against the Serbs against their lesser opponents, the Irishmen wouldn't have ended up in a bind. Right now they need to win both of their remaining games and force Wales out if they want to play ball in Russia next year.
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Quite expectedly, Ireland's dismal showings didn't miss the Twitteratis' eyes. They rained blows on the team and these are our picks.
Here's Kolarov's strike that got Serbia the 3 points.
Eamon Dunphy: "It's a sad night. It's not the players who will cost us our place in the World Cup. It's Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane." pic.twitter.com/NMRktd1l8f
Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.
For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.
Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.