Evan Ferguson missed a penalty as the Republic of Ireland passed up the opportunity to hand interim head coach John O’Shea a notable scalp against Belgium.
The Brighton striker, who reported for international duty without a goal in 20 games for his club, saw his first-half spot-kick saved by Nottingham Forest keeper Matz Sels to ensure the friendly contest at a blustery Aviva Stadium ended 0-0.
Belgium enjoyed the greater share of the possession, but it was Ireland who created the better chances with debutant Sammie Szmodics going to close.
If O’Shea, who will remain in charge for Tuesday’s friendly against Switzerland, was left to reflect upon what might have been, he could not have been disappointed with the organisation and endeavour of his players.
Previous Ireland boss Stephen Kenny wanted his young team team to play an expansive brand of football, but their efforts failed to yield results – they won only six of 29 competitive games under his charge.
O’Shea did what Kenny’s most recent predecessors had also attempted and as a first requirement, made his side difficult to beat, relying on the physicality of Ferguson and the pace of Chiedozie Ogbene to get them up the field.
In the event, Ireland looked far less vulnerable at the back and forged a series of opportunities which might have won them the game against a side ranked fourth in the world by FIFA, albeit one shorn of many of its superstars.
In-form Blackburn striker Szmodics almost got them off to the perfect start with just three minutes gone when, after Ferguson had made life difficult for defender Wout Faes, Josh Cullen slipped the ball into his path and he in turn played it in behind for Chiedozie Ogbene to chase.
Ogbene raced clear and drew Sels, but ultimately planted his left-foot shot into the side-netting.
Belgium, with 19-year-old Atletico Madrid midfielder Arthur Vermeeren prominent, settled into their passing game, but Ireland were compact in a 5-4-1 formation without the ball and openings proved few and far between.
However, O’Shea’s men were handed a gilt-edged chance to take the lead when Vermeeren was adjudged to have handled as Dara O’Shea tried to help Nathan Collins’ knock-down into the danger area and referee Rohit Saggi pointed to the spot.
Ferguson stepped up after a lengthy wait, but slipped as he made contact with the ball and saw Sels save his 28th-minute penalty with his legs.
Ogbene dragged a right-foot shot across the face of goal seconds later and Ireland went close again in the final minute of the half when Ferguson climbed highest to flick on keeper Caoimhin Kelleher’s long clearance and Szmodics held off full-back Timothy Castagne before firing over.
Seamus Coleman’s task grew in intensity after the restart after Belgium boss sent on Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku as a replacement for Leandro Trossard, but it was the hosts who went close within seconds.
Once again, Ferguson towered above the visitors’ defence to meet Robbie Brady’s inviting cross six yards out, but he could not keep his powerful header down.
Kelleher, preferred to Gavin Bazunu, needed two attempts to claim a 50th-minute Lois Openda snapshot, but opposite number Sels was happy to see Brady’s free-kick sail over his crossbar on the swirling wind four minutes later.
Szmodics saw a 67th-minute shot blocked by Amadou Onana as Ireland continued to press, but it took a good save by Kelleher to keep out Thomas Meunier’s strike after fellow substitute Dodi Lukebakio had broken free down the right and pulled the ball back 15 minutes from time.
Doku whistled a right-foot shoot just over and Openda saw optimistic appeals for a penalty waved away after colliding with Kelleher, and the game ultimately ended all square.
Slot not entertaining title talk as Liverpool go top
Arne Slot believes it is too early to speak of his Liverpool side as title contenders after they ran out 2-1 winners at Wolves to go top of the Premier League.
Ibrahim Konate had given Slot’s men the lead on the stroke of half-time but the home side levelled soon after the restart through Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Moments later, Nathan Semedo bundled over Diogo Jota in the penalty area and Mohamed Salah made no mistake from the spot to continue his and Liverpool’s fine start to the season.
The Egyptian has now scored 10 winning goals in the competition from the spot, only bettered by Alan Shearer with 12 and Frank Lampard with 18.
Despite going top, Slot insisted it was too early to speak of his side as title contenders, with just six league games played.
He said: “It feels good, you want to be up there but it doesn’t tell me that much at the moment.
"If you look at Wolves they are down in the table but they played much better than that today. After 19 games, it’ll tell me something, but not after six."
Slot praised his opposite number Gary O’Neil for causing his side some problems early on, but once tactical adjustments were made, the Dutchman was pleased with the amount of control his side exerted.
He told Sky Sports: "I don't think we started well, but we have to give credit to Wolves and Gary O'Neil.
"They had a really good gameplan. We had some problems in the first 20 minutes, but afterwards we took control of the game.
"We were patient and kept circulating the ball and kept waiting for the right moment to bring the ball in."
Wolves’ poor run of form continues and they sit bottom of the league, with no wins to their name and just a solitary point from their first six games.
O’Neil was still proud of his players after a narrow defeat and is adamant his side have deserved more points from their opening matches than the table suggests.
"They went toe-to-toe with one of the biggest clubs in the country,” said O’Neil.
“I am gutted for the lads, with what they have given in the last six games, they deserve more points.
"The responsibility of the result... I accept that, but I also need to praise the lads for delivering performances against opposition like this.
"I know them well enough that they will feel disappointed for a day, then they will be ready to go again."
The 41-year-old, who joined the club on the eve of the 2023-24 season, admits he has no control over whether he will continue as head coach.
"I can't control other people's belief in me. All I can do is the best I can do," he said.
First win of the season a 'relief' for Everton boss Dyche
Sean Dyche expressed his relief after Everton earned their first three points of the season through a Dwight McNeil brace at Goodison Park.
The hosts conceded early as Marc Guehi put Crystal Palace a goal to the good after 10 minutes, as Everton were again undone following a set-piece.
But a fine second-half display from McNeil saw two excellent finishes carry Everton over the line.
It was the first time this season Dyche's side had managed to maintain a lead, with the Toffees having dropped points from winning positions in their last three Premier League matches.
Following news of a possible takeover for the Merseyside club this week by The Friedkin Group, who also own Roma, Dyche was relieved to secure his first victory of the season, and just a sixth league win of 2024.
"I'm delighted for the players, they worked very hard to change a scoreline around," the Everton manager told BBC Sport.
"You know there’s been question marks over many things, and of course, there's been a bit of relief there for me today and relief for the players, and that’s a human thing.
"There's a lot of demand here that we put on ourselves and we have to answer to that and I thought we did today. We certainly did enough to win the game and that’s what was important."
Everton are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, though Jarrad Branthwaite's return from injury was a major bright spot.
And the Everton defence did look stronger despite a shaky first-half display. The visitors accrued an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.85 from 17 shots.
"It was a bit of nervousness. When you haven’t got that first win you feel nervous. Then you go 1-0 down, the stadium becomes awkward for the players," Dyche explained.
"I spoke to them in the second half about being someone who makes a difference. It’s every person that counts, not just one."
Everton proved far more clinical thanks to McNeil's long-range effort on 47 minutes. They finished on 0.91 xG from just eight shots.
"I thought the feel of the second half was better, not just the quality. Dwight popping up with two goals for two different reasons and some good energy in our play and the big moments went for us today," said Dyche.
Crystal Palace also had the better share of possession with 59.4%, a source of disappointment for boss Oliver Glasner.
"Over 70-75 minutes we controlled the game, but you must be focused all game. It is a big strength of Everton's in set-plays. They do it well and we defended it most of the time really well," he told BBC Sport.
"We tried everything, we changed the system, brought on all our offensive players. They defended with 10 players around their box so we didn't have a lot of space so it was difficult.
"Today we couldn't score the equaliser. If you concede two goals it's not so easy to get a point or to win."
It leaves the visitors without a win in their last six games in the Premier League.
"We know it when we look at the table. Maybe it is a welcome back to reality. Maybe we were flying too high after a great finish to the season. The Premier League is a fight," Glasner added.
St Johnstone 0-6 Celtic: Defending champions continue perfect start
Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a thumping 6-0 win away at St Johnstone.
The defending champions thought they had taken the lead early on through Daizen Maeda, but VAR intervened due to a foul in the build-up.
Nevertheless, a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo's sumptuous strike virtually ended the contest at half-time.
There was to be no mercy in the second half though, as captain Callum McGregor added a fourth for Celtic shortly after the restart.
Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added further gloss to the scoreline to make it six league wins out of six for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this campaign and take them top, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.
St Johnstone are now just a point above second bottom in the table.
Data Debrief: Defence first
Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the league.
Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of seven games from 26 April 2015 to 9 August 2015, so as well as their rampant attack, Rodgers' team have a mean defence, with St Johnston accumulating only 0.29 expected goals (xG) on Saturday.
With two assists in this match, meanwhile, Nicolas Kuhn now has four in total for the season, which is two more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.
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