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Northern Ireland defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in the semi-final of the European Championship play-off in Sarajevo.
Ian Baraclough’s men will face Slovakia next month for a place in the finals of Euro 2020, following the Republic of Ireland’s defeat on penalties in Bratislava.
Liam Boyce shot the winning penalty after Bailey Peacock-Farrell attacked Haris Hajradonovic and Edin Visca hit the crossbar as Northern Ireland emerged from their first penalty shootout.
It was a dramatic finale to a tense night in Sarajevo, where Rade Krunic sent the Bosnians to an early lead before Niall McGinn tied for the visitors eight minutes into the second half.
Bosnia was roared by around 1,500 fans allowed at Stadion Grbavica, but victory would be for the visitors, a first victory by Baraclough at the perfect time and a glorious way for Steven Davis to score his 120th international match.
Bosnia named an impromptu back four in which former Nottingham Forest player Anel Ahmenhodzic made his debut, Branimir Cipetic got his second international and Sinisa Sanicanin only his third, but Northern Ireland had trouble testing them in the first half as the hosts dominated possession.
They went straight to the front foot, with three corners and three free throws around the box building pressure on Northern Ireland in just the first 10 minutes.
But it was from the open game that he went ahead at 13 minutes. Paddy McNair and Jamal Lewis had already slipped on a surface that Northern Ireland did not train on in preparation for the game, and when Evans became the third player to lose his balance it proved costly.
When the Leicester man stumbled, Cipetic took the opportunity to remove the ball for Krunic to shoot.
Baraclough’s team almost gave an immediate response when a long ball from Corry Evans caught Josh Magennis, but Ibrahim Sehic made a superb save to deny the Hull forward from close range.
But Bosnia still looked the more dangerous of the two sides, with Pjanic sending a shot whistling past the post while Peacock-Farrell could only watch before bowing another shot narrowly.
Edin Dzeko then withdrew the ball for Krunic to shoot directly at the goalkeeper.
However, Northern Ireland finished the half well with McNair directing the ball back into goal for George Saville, whose left-foot effort was deflected.
And they continued on the front foot early in the second half, with McGinn sending a dangerous cross from the left that nearly found Corry Evans.
Northern Ireland started the second half on top and earned their reward in the 53rd minute.
McGinn chased a ball into the box, pulling it away from Cipetic, hitting Sanicanin and then shooting Sehic to level the game.
It may have been two moments later that McGinn sent a glorious cross to McNair, but Sead Kolasinac did enough to discourage him right in front of goal.
The Northern Ireland draw sparked an open period in the game as Saville and Lewis closed in for Baraclough’s side, while Peacock-Farrell saved Krunic and Amir Hadziahmetovic while Pjanic hit the crossbar with a free kick.
Gavin Whyte replaced Corry Evans with 17 minutes to go and the Cardiff man was about to overtake Northern Ireland when Sehic slipped and his shot went wide, but the whistle went offside.
Instead, Northern Ireland went into overtime for the first time since 1958, starting well when Jordan Jones pulled a good save from Sehic before Peacock-Farrell came down sharply to deny Edin Visca.
But the two sides could not separate until the shooting.
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