Northern Ireland Women extra-time play-off winners over Croatia

Northern Ireland v Croatia - UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Play-Off Round One Second Leg
Lauren Wade of Northern Ireland celebrates scoring the only goal of the game against Croatia. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Northern Ireland scored an extra-time winner to beat Croatia 2-1 on aggregate and reach the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 play-off finals.

Simone Magill hit the crossbar early on, Casey Howe twice going close in front of a near-4,000 home crowd at Windsor Park.

Jackie Burns made a crucial save to prevent Ivana Rudelic scoring, while Rebecca McKenna brought a good stop out of Doris Bacic at the other end.

In extra time, Lauren Wade saw her effort turned behind and from the resulting corner hit the back of the net, with just the six minutes plus added time to play out.

That done successfully, Northern Ireland now face the challenge of getting past Norway to reach the Euro finals.

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