Wales and Ireland met at the Cardiff City Stadium with the World Cup hope of both sides hanging in the balance and in the end, it was…

The first half was very tight, with both sets of players performing like they knew what was at stake.

Ireland, needing to win, took the lead just before the hour mark when James McClean fired home a great strike after a mistake from Ashley Williams.

Results from elsewhere also filtered through so the whole stadium knew Wales needed to win the game to qualify, a draw would not be enough and as much as they searched for a goal, they were unable to get one and as such, were eliminated and Ireland advanced to the playoffs.

Here are how both sets of players rated in the game: