Written by Donald Thomson
Looking forward to the next two years of Irish football
“It was a fixture we had to fulfil, it was a contractual obligation, and it was fulfilled.”
Those were the words of Richie Sadlier at the full-time whistle of what can be called nothing other than a footballing humiliation ritual, as Ireland and North Macedonia, the losers of their World Cup qualifiers last week, played out a 0-0 draw in front of nearly 40,000 at the Aviva Stadium.
It was a fixture that no one wanted to play.
Tickets sold out in seconds weeks before. There were visions of a rocking Lansdowne Road on everyone’s mind with Ireland potentially 90 minutes from their first men’s World Cup since 2002.
Instead, there was a slightly more subdued atmosphere, with little highlights, bar a pair of Troy Parrott disallowed goals, the second of which should have been given.
Heimir Hallgrímson named a largely unchanged side from the one that narrowly lost in Prague, contrary to what many had predicted after the first fixture.
“I want these players to continue to perform and do well and again just growing, all the time growing,” he said, citing the need to keep their momentum going as a reason for such little change in his pre-match press conference.
Everyone now has the same question on their mind; where do we go from here?
Youthful Beginnings
Of the 8 substitutions Ireland made against North Macedonia, 6 of them were players 25 or younger (Mark Travers is 26, and Alan Browne 30). Only 2 players in the starting 11 were over 28 years old, in Seamus Coleman and John Egan. This Ireland team is one that can only grow in maturity, and by the next World Cup cycle will have played far more games together as a group.
As for Euro 2028, many of the squad will be nearing, or in the midst of, the primes of their careers, which could bode well for Ireland’s fortunes in the tournament that they will almost certainly be a part of (there will be two spots reserved for host nations who fail to make it through the qualifying rounds).
There is also plenty of youth to be called upon if Heimir is looking for more options. Bosun Lawal was the pick of the bunch off the bench, putting in a tidy cameo on his Ireland debut; he could definitely be starting for Ireland regularly in the near future.
Elsewhere, Owen Elding is someone who could bolster Ireland’s attacking options significantly in a couple of years’ time. The PFAI Men’s Young Player of the Year completed a move to Hibernian over the winter, and has bagged twice in 4 starts so far. While primarily lining out up top for Hibs as part of a partnership, he proved himself to be a bit of a renaissance man at Sligo Rovers, filling in all across the forward line and in behind it.
While Troy is taking up most of Ireland’s Dutch footballing consciousness, there is another Irishman plying his trade in the Netherlands. Anselmo García MacNulty has started all but one game for PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie this season. Involved in every age level from U15 upwards, MacNulty’s assured demeanour on the ball would be welcomed in the senior set-up. While he is uncapped as of yet, it would not be a surprise to see him feature as soon as even the next international window.
Football is a game of ‘ifs,’ and Rocco Vata is one of Ireland’s biggest. If the Watford man can stay healthy, and if he can string together a few months of regular football, then he could become a force to be reckoned with. Hallgrímson certainly sees the upside; he gave Vata his senior debut in March 2025 against Bulgaria, calling the young forward a future “match-winner.” A truly electric player when he is fit, Vata’s game, as Heimir said, is “something that you look at and go, ‘wow.’”
All going incredibly well, there could possibly be involvement from names like Jaden Umeh (Benfica) and Mason Melia (Spurs) at Euro 2028, but it is more likely that they will feature in the 2030 World Cup qualification process.
The Coleman Question
79 caps. Returning from one of the most horrific injuries you will see on a football pitch. A constant leading presence in a turbulent time for Irish football. If he does decide to call time on his international career, Séamus Coleman can go out knowing he gave everything he had for the badge.
Except, it’s hard to see that North Macedonia game being his last in the jersey. For a man who has played all of twelve minutes in the Premier League this season, the shift he put in against Czechia was something to behold. Tenacious at the back and playing into extra time, Coleman, for a brief period, rolled back the years.
It clearly had taken its toll on him back in Dublin, not just physically, but emotionally.
His children walked out onto the pitch with him before the game, in an act that made it seem as if this could, perhaps, be it. However, Coleman is not the type of character who would want to go out on that low.
Heimir certainly agrees, urging Coleman to stay on until Euro 2028, praising his good performances ‘game after game,’ and asking ‘why should he retire?’
The one thing that stops a fairy-tale ending at the next international tournament is his contract situation with Everton. With his current deal due to expire at the end of June this year, there have been no signs of the club captain being offered renewed terms with the side he joined in 2009, and it is difficult to see him playing elsewhere.
There are other avenues available, with a possible player-coaching role being something of an option at the Toffees, having taken charge of an FA Cup 3rd round fixture against Peterborough with Leighton Baines after the sacking of Sean Dyche last year.
He is a crucial leader for such a young squad, and having that veteran presence will be essential for Ireland’s Euro 2028 campaign, by which time he will be nearly 40 years old.
On a side note, it took until 27 June for a deal to be announced last year, so there is still time yet for the Everton legend to put pen to paper.
Ireland Fever is Back
Viewing figures for the Czechia game peaked at 1.6 million on RTÉ, drawing in 78% of the TV audience at the time, with another 1.06 million streams on RTÉ Player, making it the most viewed event ever on the platform. Pubs were completely packed, with everyone trying to get a seat for the most anticipated match in years.
The feeling is back.
For the first time in a long time, Ireland, and especially Troy Parrott, gave us hope. In his immediate post-match interview, Parrott praised the Irish support;
“We felt it, we felt it all week.” He later urged Irish fans to “Stick with us.”
This support continued into the home fixture. It was the highest attendance at an international friendly since 2023, sitting at just under 40,000.
In the November internationals, Ireland showed us they have what it takes to compete with big sides on the international stage, and there is optimism going into the Euros because of this.
“We have won games that we have been losing and you have to go 16 years back for the last time that happened,” Heimir said on looking forward to the tournament.
With the tournament taking place in Britain and Ireland, the home support for the side will be strong, and if they can keep this forward momentum, then there will be lots for fans to cheer about.
The Next Few Months
Ireland are back for a warm-weather camp on 7 May, where they will prepare to face Grenada for the first time ever in Spain on 16 May.
Players at clubs involved in the Championship playoffs will not join the group, and unfortunately there will be no League of Ireland call-ups due to it not being an official international break.
There is hope that it will be more of an experimental squad, though.
Ireland are back in action at Lansdowne Road on 28 May to face Qatar, and travel to Canada in June to prepare them for the World Cup.
There has not been a better opportunity for a generation for the Ireland national team to make a good showing of themselves at tournament level; it just depends on how the next two years play out.
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