Summary

  • Republic of Ireland draw with Qatar in friendly

  • McClean scores with deflected close-range strike

  • Qatar equalise through Muntari's low drive early in second half

  • World Cup hosts Qatar in WC qualifying group on 'friendly' basis

  1. Finding Jack Charltonpublished at 19:37 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    .Image source, .

    If anyone hasn't watched the Finding Jack Charlton documentary I implore you to do so at the first opportunity.

    It is without doubt one of the most beautiful and touching sporting documentaries ever made. What a thoroughly decent man he was.

    Watch here.

  2. World Cup qualifiers round-uppublished at 19:34 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Wales v Czech Republic (19:45 BST)

    We've had two World Cup qualifiers already today. In Group H, Cyprus have bagged a 1-0 home win over Slovenia to take them (for the time being at least) up to second in the group.

    Meanwhile, Serbia won 2-1 in Azerbaijan, with Fulham's Alexandar Mitrovic scoring both of the goals for the away side. His club side would dearly love him to carry on from that once he's back on English soil. That win takes Serbia top of Group A for now.

  3. Also long overdue?published at 19:29 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    .Image source, Getty Images

    Saturday's defeat extended Stephen Kenny's winless run to 10 games since taking over from Mick McCarthy.

    Republic of Ireland have not won since beating New Zealand in a friendly in November 2019.

  4. Luxembourg to pull off another shock?published at 19:25 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Luxembourg v Portugal (19:45 BST)

    Luxembourg will look to pull off another shock result when they take on Portugal in World Cup qualifying tonight.

    The win against the Republic of Ireland was only Luxembourg's seventh in World Cup qualifying since 1934, so it would take something very special to pull off another win tonight.

    Reigning European champions Portugal drew 2-2 in their qualifying opener at the weekend. Cristiano Ronaldo was left livid after that game for being denied a last-minute winner.

    Fuming.

    RonaldoImage source, Getty Images
  5. Wales looking for first winpublished at 19:20 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Wales v Czech Republic (19:45 BST)

    .Image source, .

    Wales are also in action tonight as they host Czech Republic looking to pick up their first points in Group E.

    The Welsh began their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-1 defeat by Belgium but set themselves up for this game with a friendly win against Mexico.

    "We've had two difficult games against teams in the top 10 in the world - we gave a good account of ourselves," said Wales caretaker manager Robert Page.

    "We went toe to toe in the second half against Belgium and held our own. The win on Saturday sets us up nicely and we'll be going for the win."

    You can follow that game and the rest of this evening's World Cup qualifiers in more detail here.

  6. Long overdue?published at 19:16 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    Republic of Ireland haven’t won any of their last 12 friendly games played outside of Ireland (D6 L6), since beating Oman 4-1 at Craven Cottage in September 2012.

  7. Where are we?published at 19:14 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    .Image source, Getty Images

    The Nagyerdei Stadion is the venue for tonight's game, which is in Debrecen - Hungary's second largest city.

  8. Why Qatar? Why in Hungary?published at 19:12 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    .Image source, Getty Images

    It may appear a bit odd that this friendly is taking place during the international break for World Cup qualifiers.

    The reason is that Qatar have been permitted as a guest team in the European qualifiers to ensure the 2022 hosts get some good preparation in for next year's tournament.

    As a result, they were put in Group A but all matches they play are classed as friendlies and do not count towards the point tally.

    They have beaten Azerbaijan and Luxembourg in their two friendles so far.

    Oh and we are in Hungary for this one because Qatar are basing themselves in Europe for these games.

  9. 'You have to accept the criticism'published at 19:08 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    .Image source, Getty Images

    "I knew when I took up the job that that's where we're at," Stephen Kenny said when asked if the criticism of his time in charge of the Republic of Ireland so far has been fair.

    "If you lose to Luxembourg, you have to accept the criticism, I'm not naive in that regard.

    "I think in the Serbia game we showed what we're made of, played really well and lost 3-2. The big let down has been losing to Luxembourg."

  10. Team newspublished at 19:04 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    Qatar v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)

    Let's get stuck straight into team news and there's changes galore for the Republic of Ireland.

    Just Gavin Bazunu, Seamus Coleman and Dara O'Shea retaining their places from the Luxembourg defeat.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  11. Pressure mounting?published at 18:58 British Summer Time 30 March 2021

    .Image source, Getty Images

    For the Republic of Ireland, Saturday marked a significant low in their recent history.

    The Irish suffered an embarrassing 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at the hands of Luxembourg - ranked 98th in the world.

    Today, the Republic are back in action, this time facing Qatar.

    While it may only be a friendly, another bad result would ramp up the pressure on boss Stephen Kenny.