Mikey Johnston excites Ireland fans with stunner for West Brom ahead of World Cup qualifiers

What a goal this is!

Johnston fired home from 25 yards against Portsmouth at the Hawthorns for a stunning opener, somehow finding the far left corner from the right edge of the box in the 1-1 draw.

It was the 26-year-old's first Championship start of the season for West Brom, having been close to a move to Flamengo in the summer.

Last week, Johnston came off the bench to register two assists as West Brom beat Wrexham 3-2.

Republic of Ireland take on both Hungary (September 6th) and Armenia (September 9th) in their opening World Cup qualifiers, with Heimir Hallgrímsson expected to name his squad in the coming 10 days.

Johnston looked set to join the Brazilian giants, but that move stalled after reported backlash from supporters.

Johnston, who has 15 caps for Republic of Ireland, was set to complete a €5.8m move to Flamengo, who reached the last 16 of the Club World Cup.

He left Celtic last summer to join the Championship club for €3.5m, and registered three goals and five assists in his 41 appearances.

The link to Flamengo surprised many at the weekend, but the move had some sense to it. During a past loan spell with Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2022/23, Johnston had played under coach Jose Boto, who is now Flamengo’s sporting director.