LittleMontenegro outperformsIreland on the soccer field

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Were the Irish national team beaten by Gibraltar last night? Print deadlines don't allow us to know at the time of publication, but they probably won and Stephen Kenny might suggest that such a result could mean he should keep his job for the next campaign. He can point to how the Irish rugby team are hailed as heroes despite the fact that they have never reached the top 8 in a sport that is not taken seriously by more than nine countries. And that at least he's never lost by a four goal difference, as Andy Farrell's men did on Saturday.

The other bad news is that, despite what I wrote on this page last week (fake news!), we are not guaranteed a place at Euro 2028, despite being co-hosts, because under UEFA rules, if there are more than two hosts, automatic qualification of all host countries cannot be guaranteed. So we'll be rooting for England, Wales, Scotland and our northern neighbors to qualify too, as two automatic places will be reserved for the two countries that don't qualify. It's pretty discouraging to think that we'll have to rely on others to qualify for our own tournament.

This doesn't mean we can't still qualify for Euro 2028.

Somehow we still have a mathematical chance, although we need to lose to the Netherlands in our last match (don't ask why) to improve our playoff chances.

A country the size of Montenegro (population: 620,000) now has higher expectations of qualifying for tournaments than we do.

In tonight's most interesting confrontation, they will play against their neighbors Serbia, with whom they were once part of Yugoslavia, even after four other Balkan countries abandoned that mix of country before it was named Serbia and Montenegro for just three years from 2003 to 2006.

After that, Montenegro decided to go its own way, voting 55% in a referendum to cut ties with the Serbs.

Their southern neighbors, Albania, have actually been an unexpected sensation in qualifying and their 3-0 win over the Czechs last Thursday means they are likely to top their group, with only Moldova and the Faroe Islands left to play.

In Group G Serbia and Montenegro lead Hungary and the latter's 2-1 defeat to the Magyars last week was something of a surprise, leaving Serbia with just one win in their last four qualifying matches under the guidance of playing legend Dragan Stojkovic.

They have failed to keep their goal clean in their last five matches in all competitions.

Montenegro They are just two points away from the qualification zone and can overtake Serbia in second place with a win, and even a draw would allow them to control their own destiny. Montenegro's recent performances include a 2-1 win over Bulgaria in the qualifiers when Stevan Jovetic scored a dramatic late goal. They prepared for the trip to Serbia with a 3-2 win over Lebanon in a friendly last Thursday, but have won just one of their last four away matches in all competitions.

Their defense has been somewhat unreliable, with only one match without conceding a goal in that span and a 2-2 draw with Lithuania in their previous away match in qualifying. Serbia, despite their recent struggles, are favorites to win at home with a betting odds of 2/5. Montenegro's win is priced at 9/1, with a draw at 4/1. Serbia have won all three previous meetings with Montenegro in previous encounters, with a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture in March when Dusan Vlahovic netted a double.

Montenegro can be dangerous in attack, especially when Jovetic brings a spark. The forward who has scored the winning goal in recent qualifying matches is priced at odds of 19/5 per goal.

Now that we and the French are no longer interested in what will happen in Paris in the next two weeks, the next sporting event that