Rod can be

Man who scored penalty sickener in Belfast haunts O’Neill’s men again at death with goalline clearance

BASEL is the crossroads where Switzerland, Germany and France meet – but it marks the end of the line for Northern Ireland in the cruellest of circumstances.

Despite giving everything, their dream of a first World Cup since 1986 is over because of THAT penalty in Belfast.

Curse Ricardo Rodriguez who, after converting the hugely controversial spot-kick in Belfast, last night cleared a Jonny Evans header off the line in the dying seconds that would have taken this play-off to extra time.

That rubbed salt into the wounds for Michael O’Neill and his players who were left in tears after coming so close to glory.

The Northern Ireland manager said: “The players are emotional and upset. There were some in tears and everyone was struggling to hold back their emotions.

“Emotions are running very high in the dressing room because for some of these players it’s unlikely the World Cup will come round again.

“They’re devastated because it was decided by a really poor decision and a penalty that should never have been.”

O’Neill was proud of every player and hailed them for matching a Swiss side that had the luxury of bringing £20million Schalke star Breel Embolo off the bench while he turned to Kilmarnock’s Jordan Jones for an international debut.

The Northern Ireland gaffer said: “We brought on young Jordan Jones, who is at Killie, and they’re bringing on a £20m player.

“To take a team like Switzerland to the final minute over two legs is an amazing achievement.

“We don’t always have top-level players but we have top-level characters.”

The worry now is O’Neill could be lured away and his band of brothers broken up.

The SFA want O’Neill, who lives in Edinburgh and has played and managed in Scotland, as their new manager. Some stalwarts will consider their futures and, at 38 and 37 respectively, Aaron Hughes and Gareth McAuley must decide if they have another campaign left in them.

Yet while the Irish have fallen short in their bid to reach Russia they definitely have not failed.

Their squad of players, mainly from the Championship, League One and Scottish Premiership, overachieved to get this close.

O’Neill has just four Premier League players – and three of them are aged 32 or over.

Wee Northern Ireland should never have got this far and it is testament to O’Neill’s coaching abilities and their team spirit that they did.

That’s why Scotland are so keen