Andrew Omobamidele's hopes of helping Strasbourg to a place in the Coupe de France final were scuppered at the penultimate stage as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to Nice.
The Republic of Ireland defender, who joined the Ligue 1 side last summer for a fee of €8m after an unhappy spell at Nottingham Forest, started in the heart of defence for Gary O’Neill’s side.
Six days after hitting Mainz for four in the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals, Strasbourg returned to midweek action at La Meinau with a cup final spot stake against a Nice side that is yet to secure their Ligue 1 status beyond this season.
The visitors however scored with their first shot on target through Elya Wahi shortly after the break. His second, from the penalty spot eight minutes from time, sealed their passage to the final.
Omobamidele, who won the last of his 10 international caps against Greece in September 2024 after some injury-interrupted seasons, was replaced in the 65th minute, his 33rd appearance for the club this season.
The Kildare native is the only Irish player still left in European competition, with Strasbourg set to face Rayo Vallecano for a place in the UEFA Conference League final.
The 23-year-old is confident the domestic cup disappointment won’t impact continental ambitions.
"We need to try our best to take positives out of it. This loss won’t define our season," he told French media afterwards.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich are one win away from a domestic double after Harry Kane's first-half goal inspired the newly crowned Bundesliga champions to a 2-0 DFB-Pokal semi-final victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Luis Diaz added a second-half stoppage time cushion for the German giants, who reached their first DFB Cup final since 2019-20 and will play the winners of Thursday night’s semi-final between Stuttgart and Freiburg.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Arsenal v Lyon in the UEFA Women's Champions League on Sunday from 3pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
