International round-up: ex-Millwall striker scores heroic hat-trick to send Republic of Ireland to World Cup play-offs.

MAX Crocombe started in goal for New Zealand, who fell 2-1 to Colombia in a friendly on Sunday.

The two teams met at Inter Miami’s home field, Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the South American side took the lead within three minutes thanks to Gustavo Puerta.

Ben Old tied the game in the 80th minute. Johan Carbonero scored the winner eight minutes later.

Daniel Kelly was pulled from Scotland’s under-21 squad prior to their European under-21 qualifier against Gibraltar. Scotland won the match 2-0.

Mihailo Ivanovic did not play as Serbia’s under-21s defeated Czechia 2-1 in a friendly on Friday.

Troy Parrott, an ex-Lion, starred for the Republic of Ireland against Hungary on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick to cap off a spectacular comeback that earned them a spot in the World Cup qualifying playoffs.

They needed a win in Budapest to guarantee a position in the play-offs, but two Hungarian first-half goals, each side of Parrott’s fifteenth-minute penalty, dashed their chances of returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

Parrott, 23, equalized in the 80th minute before reacting first to Liam Scales’ flick on to score the game-winner with nearly the final kick.

Parrott, who was on Tottenham Hotspur’s books at the time, signed on a season-long loan with Millwall in August 2020, but injuries plagued his stay there. The striker made only fourteen appearances in all competitions, failing to score, before being recalled by Spurs in January 2021.

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