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 draw in Group F to guarantee Jim Crawford's side a play-off spot.
Ireland now travel to Ascoli on Tuesday knowing that victory over the Italians will see them top their group and secure automatic qualification.
A Fabiano Parisi own goal in the ninth minute gave the Sweden the lead in Helsingborg this afternoon 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 in the table and 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.
Now, with a play-off spot in the bag, they will head to Italy looking to pull of what would be a famous and historic win.
