In their first World Cup finals the Irish had fought their way through Group F and into the knockout stages at Italia 1990 without winning a game, having secured draws with England, Egypt, and Holland. Ireland then lined up to play Romania in the round of 16. The date was June 25, 1990 in Genoa's Stadio Luigi Farraris. Ireland's fans, the most popular in the world, were there in force.
Ireland's starting line-up were as follows: Packie Bonner, Chris Morris, Mick McCarthy (capt), Kevin Moran, Steve Staunton, Ray Houghton, Paul McGrath, Andy Townsend, Kevin Sheedy, John Aldridge and Niall Quinn. Tony Cascarino would come on for Aldridge in the 22nd minute while David O'Leary would replace Staunton early in the overtime period.
While Ireland had avoided the mighty West Germans the match against the technically gifted Romanians, including the legendary Gheorghe Hagi, would prove to be anything but easy. The Irish team employed the tried and trusted Jack Charlton style of football throughout the game by bombarding the Romanian defense with long balls.
During normal playing time the Irish could not make the breakthrough and in reality the Romanians came closest to breaking the deadlock through the dangerous Hagi.
The 90 minutes ended in a 0-0 draw. In a further half hour of extended play neither side could find the golden goal and the Irish players faced their first-ever penalty shoot-out at a major soccer championship. This video covers the drama of the shoot-out with Donegal and Celtic's own Packie Bonner in the line of fire for the Bhoys in Green.
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Awesome! That was heart-stopping. The suspense and drama combined with the din of the fantastic Irish fans had me breathless. The conclusion brought goose bumps!
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