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Liverpool's Conor Bradley put in a stellar performance to keep Northern Ireland's World Cup qualification hopes alive, but will miss the crucial match against Germany on Monday.
Bradley was instrumental in Northern Ireland's 2-0 victory over Slovakia on Friday night, earning man-of-the-match honours and contributing to the first goal. However, a second-half booking means the right-back will be sidelined for the upcoming showdown with group leaders Germany at Windsor Park.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill commented on the incident: "I have watched it back and he tries to pull out. The referee, at times, it was good he didn't want to hand out yellow cards, but if he was going to give a yellow for that he should have dished out more. Especially for the opposition."
O'Neill also praised his young squad, saying: "We have so many good young players who love playing together. It is difficult to pick one player, but Conor does stand out because he does so many good things. It was good for him to captain the team on a night like this."
Northern Ireland currently sit second in their four-team group, separated by goal difference from Germany and third-placed Slovakia. The top team secures a spot in the World Cup, while the runner-up advances to the play-offs.
Bradley's suspension means he'll miss the chance to face off against Liverpool colleague Florian Wirtz, who featured prominently in Germany's 4-0 triumph over Luxembourg.
Alexander Isak hit the woodwork in his quest for match fitness, playing a full 90 minutes for the first time since May. Despite his efforts, Sweden fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Switzerland, leaving them at the bottom of their group with three games left.
Hugo Ekitike made his debut start for France, setting up the opening goal for Kylian Mbappe as Didier Deschamps' team sailed to a 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan.
Ibrahima Konate, who had limped out of Liverpool's 2-1 loss at Chelsea with a quad issue, remained on the bench but had trained prior to the match.
Alexis Mac Allister was brought on for the final 12 minutes as Argentina secured a slim 1-0 friendly win over Venezuela in Miami in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In other news, summer recruit Armin Pecsi was in goal for Hungary's under-21s in their 3-3 draw against Ukraine in their UEFA European U21 Championship qualifier.
Meanwhile, Trent Kone-Doherty came on with 16 minutes left as Republic of Ireland drew 2-2 at home to Slovakia in the same competition.
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