Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was dismissed for an ill-judged celebration after scoring an equalising goal, as his side went on to lose 3-1 to Austria in a UEFA Nations League fixture on Thursday at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz.
The 20-year-old had leveled the match in the 55th minute with a header, canceling out Romano Schmid's first-half penalty that had given Austria the lead. However, Abu Farchi's celebration proved costly. He rushed to the corner flag, pulled it from the ground, and mimed firing a gun with it. Having already been booked four minutes earlier, the referee issued a second yellow card for the gesture, reducing Israel to ten men for the remainder of the contest.
Austria capitalized on their numerical advantage late in the game. Phillipp Mwene restored the lead in the 90th minute, finishing off a cross supplied by Paul Wanner. Sasa Kalajdzic then sealed the victory with a close-range finish deep into stoppage time, completing the 3-1 scoreline in Austria's favor.
Elsewhere in the Nations League, the Republic of Ireland endured a difficult start to their campaign, falling 1-0 away to Kosovo in Pristina. The match had been preceded by discussions surrounding Ireland's upcoming meeting with Israel, a fixture that manager Heimir Hallgrímsson acknowledged had left several of his players uneasy.
Chiedozie Ogbene squandered an early opportunity for Ireland, sending a shot over the bar, before Kosovo grew into the contest and finished the opening half strongly. The hosts saw two efforts cleared off the line, while goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher produced a crucial save to deny a header from Vedat Muriqi, keeping the score level at the interval. Ireland fought hard after the break but were undone with seven minutes remaining when Muriqi, Kosovo's captain, forced the ball home from close range. Ireland are due to face Israel in Hungary on Sunday.
In Group A4, Erling Haaland was the standout performer as Norway defeated Denmark 3-2 in Oslo, securing their first-ever competitive victory over their Scandinavian neighbors. Haaland scored twice, including a decisive strike in the 74th minute. Norway had raced into a 2-0 lead through first-half goals from Oscar Bobb and Haaland, only for Denmark to fight back and level the score by the hour mark. Norway were reduced to ten men in stoppage time when David Møller Wolfe was sent off for a second bookable offense, but they held on for the win.
Captain Martin Ødegaard reflected on the significance of the result. "It tasted sweet. It feels great to beat our neighbours," he said. "There is a lot we could have done better, but even when we were put under pressure, we found a way back and responded."
There was late drama in Belgrade as well, where Greece overturned a first-half deficit to beat Serbia 2-1, with Tasos Douvikas netting the winner in stoppage time. In League D action, Malta came from behind to defeat Andorra 2-1, while Lithuania secured a 2-0 away win against Liechtenstein.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.