Rodriguez key at both ends as Switzerland reach World Cup

AP, Basel
Switzerland is going to the World Cup after left-back Ricardo Rodriguez denied Northern Ireland hope in both games of their playoff at either end of the field.
In each leg of Switzerland’s 1-0 aggregate win, the key incident involved one of Northern Ireland’s Evans brothers.
Switzerland needed only a draw Sunday to advance to Russia, and a tense 0-0 result in rain-soaked Basel was preserved by Rodriguez’s goal-line clearance in stoppage time from Jonny Evans’ header.
“In the right moment he was in the right place,” Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said of the AC Milan defender.
It meant Switzerland’s disputed penalty for handball in the first-leg victory in Belfast made all the difference.
Rodriguez scored that spot kick on Thursday, when Corey Evans was whistled harshly for an incident that few agreed with.
Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill said his team’s exit after a spirited second-half Sunday was “a devastating moment.”
“It was decided by a really poor decision and a penalty that should never have been,” O’Neill said, 25 minutes after the final whistle. “We should still be playing extra time now.”
“It was a privilege to be their coach and manager tonight,” said O’Neill, who shared tearful embraces with players at the final whistle.
Northern Ireland came to Basel with aggression in its play that had been strangely lacking in the home leg.
Still, Switzerland dominated much of the first half and should have sealed its place at a fourth straight World Cup much earlier.