Republic Of Ireland's 5 Most Memorable Moments

3. Beating Romania On Penalties

World Cup 1990 25th June 1990. Genoa, ItalyItalia '90 was another tight group for Ireland, drawn against Holland, Egypt and their huge rivals, England. In the six group games, no teams managed to score more than one goal in a match and only one game didn't end in a draw. The first game of the group was the mouth-watering prospect of Ireland vs England in Ireland's first ever World Cup game. England's expectations were at an all time high, and they took the early lead from a Gary Lineker goal. It was almost an hour before Ireland mounted a reply, but finally did so through Everton forward Kevin Sheedy. The goal was enough to end the match in a draw and make Gary Lineker soil his shorts. Ireland drew the two remaining games, finishing in a qualifying position, and earning a Round of 16 match against Romania. Ninety minutes and extra time couldn't separate the two sides and the match came down to a nail biting penalty shootout to see who would progress to the Quarter Finals. Sheedy, Houghton, Townsend and Cascarino all scored their penalties, while their four Romanian counterparts scored theirs too. Romania's Daniel Timofte stepped up and missed their fifth penalty, putting the deciding kick on Arsenal defender David O'Leary. As O'Leary stepped up, Irish TV commentator George Hamilton muttered the fitting, now famous line, "A nation holds its breath." O'Leary ran up and put the ball past keeper Silviu Lung and an entire country erupted. The whole Irish team and backroom staff rushed the pitch and embraced O'Leary in celebration. Ireland headed on to the Quarter Finals to an unexpected meeting with the hosts Italy. Despite losing 1-0 to a Salvatore Schillaci goal in Rome, Ireland had put in a huge performance in their first World Cup and set the expectations for major tournament appearances to come.