KEANE SCORES IN FINAL APPEARANCE FOR IRELAND

Keane ended his international career in perfect fashion, scoring his historic 68th goal in his 146th and final Ireland appearance in Wednesday’s 4-0 friendly thrashing of Oman in Dublin.

The 30th-minute volley drew the Los Angeles Galaxy forward level with German World Cup winner Gerd Muller in the international all-time goalscoring charts.

Strike partner Jon Walters turned provider for the goal, and when Keane scooped the ball over defender Nadir Mabrook’s head inside the penalty area, there was no doubt what would happen next.

There was the slightest hesitation to line up the perfect contact, but it was a case of deja vu from then on with the ball hitting the net and Keane off and running towards the crowd, with his famous cartwheel celebration rolled out for one last performance.

There was no shock Keane got on the scoreboard, the only surprise was it took half an hour in a pre-World Cup qualifying friendly.

Oman were always likely to become the 37th different country Keane scored against, especially with the entire team -- and crowd -- willing the Dubliner on.

The 36-year-old was captain for the night, as well as the main attraction in Lansdowne Road, with the President of Ireland making a personal presentation to him before kick off.

There were also video tributes from Pele, Steven Gerrard and Bono, the U2 lead singer, but the only presentation Keane wanted was a goal on a platter.

Over 18 years have passed since Keane made his Ireland debut against the Czech Republic in 1998, it will be a long time before Ireland sees his like again.