Sweden and Italy draw to ensure Ireland a European Under-21 Championship play-off spot

Sweden Under-21s 1-1 Italy Under-21s

The Republic of Ireland's quest to reach a the finals of the European Under-21 Championship for the first time moved a step closer after Italy and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw in Group F to guarantee Jim Crawford's side a play-off spot.

A Fabiano Parisi own goal in the ninth minute gave the hosts the lead but sustained Italy pressure resulted in an equaliser in the 58th minute, with Nicolo Rovella scoring from the penalty spot.

Sweden finished with 10 men when Emil Holm picked up a second yellow card in the 88th minute.

The Boys in Green, who beat Montenegro 3-1 at home on Monday night, sit on 19 points. This evening’s draw in Helsingborg means that Ireland can’t be caught by the Swedes, who finish on 18 points.

A win for Ireland next Tuesday in Ascoli would mean automatic qualification as group winners.

It had all began in a rather underwhelming manner.

A 1-1 draw away in Luxembourg back in September before a shock defeat away to Montenegro in October meant that Ireland had only picked up seven out of a possible 12 points without playing either of the top two in Italy or Sweden.

After suffering a home defeat to the Azzurri, back-to-back wins against Sweden got the campaign back on track.

The first came at Tallaght Stadium, thanks to a last-gasp Ollie O’Neill goal, before an impressive 2-0 win away from home, with Ross Tierney and Tyreik Wright getting on the scoresheet.

Further victories against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro put Ireland in a strong position.