Northern Ireland sees World Cup hopes dashed

BASEL, SWITZERLAND— Switzerland is going to the World Cup after leftback Ricardo Rodriguez denied Northern Ireland hope in both games of their playoff. In each leg of Switzerland’s 1-0 aggregate win, the key incident involved one of Northern Ireland’s Evans brothers.

Switzerland needed only a draw Sunday to advance to Russia, and a tense 0-0 result in rain-soaked Basel was preserved by Rodriguez’s goalline clearance in stoppage time from Jonny Evans’ header.

“In the right moment he was in the right place,” Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said of the AC Milan defender.

Later, Croatia qualified after a 0-0 draw in the second leg against Greece in Athens, after taking the opener 4-1 in Zagreb.

For Switzerland, a disputed penalty for handball in the first-leg victory in Belfast made all the difference.

Rodriguez scored that spot kick on Thursday, when Corey Evans was whistled harshly for an incident that few agreed with.

Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill said his team’s exit after a spirited second-half Sunday was “a devastating moment.”

“It was decided by a really poor decision and a penalty that should never have been,” O’Neill said, 25 minutes after the final whistle. “We should still be playing extra time now.”

“It was a privilege to be their coach and manager tonight,” he said.