McNair’s brace helps Northern Ireland edge past Czech Republic in friendly

Paddy McNair scored twice to give Northern Ireland a confidence booster ahead of crunch Euro 2020 qualifiers as they edged past the Czech Republic 3-2 in a friendly in Prague on Monday.

The Middlesbrough midfielder opened the score nine minutes into the game, intercepting a Czech pass and beating keeper Jiri Pavlenka with a low left-footer. Leicester City defender Jonny Evans made it 2-0 on 23 minutes with a rebound as the Czech defence took too long to clear the ball following a corner.

McNair added another from a break five minutes before halftime, sprinting down the centre and rounding Pavlenka to score into an empty net.

The Czechs had made ten changes to the line-up that started last Friday’s 2-1 win over England in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

They improved following four substitutions at halftime and put the visitors under heavy pressure and scored twice midway through the second half.

Vladimir Darida slammed home a pass by striker Zdenek Ondrasek, who had sunk England with an 85th-minute goal on Friday. Alex Kral added a second following a superb mazy run down the centre to round off the score.

Sitting third in Group C, Northern Ireland host the Netherlands on November 16 before facing Germany away three days later.

They trail both rivals by three points. All three have two games to play.

The Czechs next face Kosovo at home before playing their final qualifier in Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, Iconic Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez reached a new milestone when his team took on Peru in a friendly on, in his 200th match in charge of the two-time world champions.

The 72-year-old, who suffers from a nerve disorder that forces him to uses crutches to walk, has held the record of most matches in charge of a single national team since 2016.

He has been at the Uruguay helm for 13 years and last year signed a contract extension until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Agence France-Presse