• Euro 2012 qualifying

Ireland hold their nerve to book Euro spot

ESPN staff
November 15, 2011
Robbie Keane celebrates with goalscorer Stephen Hunt © Getty Images
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Republic of Ireland booked their place at Euro 2012 with a routine 1-1 draw against Estonia in Dublin.

Having done all the hard work during their impressive 4-0 win in Tallinn on Friday, a single goal from Stephen Ward was sufficient to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane had ignored calls to return to LA Galaxy, but he was unable to get his side off to the ideal start in the Aviva Stadium, skewing inexplicably wide after Estonia keeper Pavel Londak spilled Damien Duff's effort.

But Ward got Ireland off the mark shortly after the half-hour mark, netting the rebound after Londak saved Kevin Doyle's header to spark wild celebrations in Dublin.

Konstantin Vassiljev momentarily silenced the home fans with a long range effort that slipped through the hands of Shay Given, but there was little hope of a comeback as Giovanni Trapattoni's men stood firm to book their place at their first major tournament since 2002.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Helder Postiga both scored twice as Portugal reached the finals with a 6-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Lisbon's Stadium Of Light.

They will be joined in Poland and Ukraine next summer by Croatia, who were held at home to a 0-0 draw by Turkey, but progressed thanks to their 3-0 win in Istanbul on Friday.

Czech Republic's ensured their place after a narrow win proved to be enough against Montenegro in the second leg of their qualifying play-off. Petr Jiracek scored the only goal of the game in the 81st minute to give them a 3-0 win on aggregate.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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