IT IS NOT everyday that a League of Ireland player scores in a World Cup qualifier.
But it happened tonight as Dundalk defender, Sonni Nattestad, gave the Faroe Islands license to dream this evening, his opening goal putting the minnows 1-0 up against Austria. In the end they lost 3-1.
19' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!! SONNI NATTESTAD!! 1-0 FØROYAR!!
— Færøsk fodbold (@FaeroskFodbold) March 28, 2021
The Faroes famously defeated Austria 1-0 in September 1990, in their first competitive international while Nattestad became the first Dundalk player to score an international goal in 85 years, following on from Joey Donnelly, who scored twice in a 5-2 win over Germany in 1936.
Last player to score an international goal as a Dundalk player before tonight was Joey Donnelly, who netted twice for Ireland in a 5-2 win over Germany in 1936. Never before had a Dundalk player scored in a competitive game. https://t.co/hAl2lxEJts
— Niall Newberry (@niallnewberry) March 28, 2021
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry registered the 15th goal of his international career, as Germany defeated Romania 1-0 in Bucharest. Across the border in Sofia, Torino’s Andrea Belotti’s penalty and Manuel Locatelli’s goal were enough to secure three points for Italy against Bulgaria.
In this evening’s other games, Armenia defeated Iceland 2-0 in Yerevan; Poland were comfortable 3-0 winners over Andorra; Hungary travelled home from San Marino with a 3-0 victory. Finally, North Macedonia defeated Liechtenstein 5-0.
