Charles brothers star as Northern Ireland start with win, Mbappé injury concern for France

LAST UPDATE | 23 hrs ago

Georgia 0

Northern Ireland 1

SHEA CHARLES SCORED a last-gasp winner after his brother Pierce saved Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s penalty as Northern Ireland began their Nations League campaign with a dramatic 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.

Ceadach O’Neill came off the bench to win his third international cap in the closing minutes. Before this international window there had been some speculation that O’Neill, a nephew of former Derry GAA forward Eoin Bradley, could have switched his international allegiance to Ireland.

Pierce Charles guessed right to keep out a poor penalty from Paris St Germain’s Ballon d’Or contender in the 65th minute, having already made an excellent save to keep out Georges Mikautadze’s close-range shot earlier in the second half.

At the other end, Shea Charles had spurned the visitors’ best chances to score but, in the ninth minute of time added on, scrambled home from Trai Hume’s cross, securing a first ever away win for Northern Ireland in this competition.

There was a nervous VAR check for offside but eventually Shea Charles, who this summer became the most expensive Northern Ireland player in history with a £30million (€34.9m) move to Fulham from Southampton, could celebrate only his second international goal.

Michael O’Neill had been frustrated with several decisions from referee Orel Grinfeeld – not least the penalty, which came after Dan Ballard and Luka Locoshvili tussled in the box and Grinfeeld was sent to the monitor for a lengthy look at the replay.

But although Northern Ireland left the pitch celebrating, there was a major blow in stoppage time as Ballard pulled up clutching his hamstring.

A slow start to the match might have been influenced by an odd atmosphere inside the 54,000-capacity Boris Paichadze National Stadium. Officially behind closed doors due to sanctions on the Georgian FA following crowd trouble last year, more than 6,000 schoolchildren were allowed in.

With many brandishing vuvuzelas, it was no surprise they successfully drowned out the 60 or so Northern Ireland fans given special dispensation to attend after booking their travel before being made aware of the stadium ban.

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Hume made an early statement with a sliding tackle on Kvaratskhelia, and gradually Northern Ireland grew into the game as Shea Charles and Isaac Price threatened.

Georgia did not have a single attempt at goal until the 38th minute but were a whisker away from taking the lead when they did, with Hume hacking off the line after Kvaratskhelia’s corner found Giorgi Kvernadze unmarked at the back post.

Northern Ireland were quick to threaten at the start of the first half. Pierce Charles punted a long free-kick into the Georgia box, and Mamardashvili punched it into the path of Shea Charles whose first-time shot was blocked by Lasha Dvali with the goalkeeper out of position.

Mikautadze then found space too easily on the edge of the six-yard box, but Pierce Charles adjusted superbly to turn the ball over, and 12 minutes later he was celebrating denying Kvaratskhelia from the spot.

The Georgia captain staggered his run-up but did not get enough power on the strike and Pierce Charles pushed it away.

Mamardashvili smothered one effort from Shea Charles at the end of a counter before the Fulham midfielder dragged wide when well-placed, but he made the difference at the death after Georgia failed to deal with a long throw into the box.

Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappé scored the only goal of the game before having to come off grimacing with a knee injury as France won 1-0 in Turkey in new coach Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge. 

The Real Madrid superstar was moved out to the left wing by his new coach after being used through the middle of the France attack under former coach Didier Deschamps at the recent World Cup, which he ended as the top scorer with 10 goals.

It was from the left that Mbappé, France’s all-time top scorer, notched his 67th international goal, controlling and firing in low at the near post after being set up by Michael Olise.

He winced in pain as his teammates came across to celebrate the goal at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit, just over 100 kilometres outside Istanbul.

Mbappé tried to carry on after receiving treatment, but eventually slumped to the ground and looked concerned as he prodded the outside of his left knee, before walking off to be replaced by Desire Doue.

France and Real will now nervously wait to discover the extent of the injury, with Les Bleus playing three more games over the next 10 days before the club season resumes.

The sight of his star player and skipper coming off overshadowed Zidane’s first match since being appointed coach in late July on a deal to 2030.

The France legend and 1998 World Cup winner is making his return to elite coaching for the first time since his second stint in charge of Madrid ended in 2021.

Roberto Mancini’s second debut as Italy head coach ended with a barrage of boos in Rome on Friday as the Azzurri began their Nations League campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Belgium.

Mika Godts marked his first competitive cap with a fine individual goal at the Stadio Olimpico before Dodi Lukebakio’s powerful strike put the visitors out of sight after the break.

It was an encouraging start for new Belgium coach Mark van Bommel, who succeeded Rudi Garcia following the Red Devils’ run to the World Cup quarter-finals in the summer to take his first step into international management.

But it was another night to forget for Italy, who re-appointed Euro 2020 winner Mancini in the wake of a play-off defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina that marked a third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Tens of thousands of seats were left empty at the Olimpico, but the home crowd jeered loudly at the full-time whistle after a performance that underlined how much work lies ahead to turn around the flagging fortunes of the four-time world champions.

With reporting from AFP

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