We last qualified for the World Cup Finals in 2002 when we reached the round of 16 in South Korea (losing on penos to Spain, who we should have knocked out!, how things change quickly in world football) and Japan despite being devoid of our best player Roy Keane. Martin O’Neill’s men picked up where […] More
Among the myriad of other excuses that are constantly trotted out to explain the English national sides capitulation at another tournament, the one about the Premier League, or more specifically the one about the number of non-English players who ply their trade in it, is probably the most common one. Since the Premier League started […] More
This article originally appeared on A False First XI Any disappointment in dropping two points at home last night is put into perspective by what was done to Seamus Coleman and my first thoughts on the game this morning were about that horrific injury rather than the game itself. Coleman is one of my favourite […] More
Ireland and Wales produced a 0-0 draw in the Aviva tonight, with the main talking point being Neil Taylor’s dismissal for a shocking tackle on Seamus Coleman, who left the pitch on a stretcher. The battling boys in green dominated after Taylor’s 68th minute red card, but couldn’t find the breakthrough in a game of […] More
Where and what time is the game? Kick-off is at 7.45pm at the Aviva Stadium on Friday (March 24th) Are there still tickets? No, the game is sold out. If you don’t have a ticket, the game will be shown live on both RTÉ2 and Sky Sports 1. What are the latest odds? Ireland 31/20 […] More
The FAI have announced a DUO ticket package for this summer’s clashes with Uruguay and Austria at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland will take on Uruguay on June 4th in an international friendly, and will host Austria a week later (June 11th) in a pivotal Group D World Cup qualifier. A limited number of the ticket […] More
No sooner had Ireland’s Euro 2016 revelry faded to black than Martin O’Neill’s men found themselves on the ‘Road to Russia’. Putin’s eastern bloc will play host to next year’s World Cup, and given the boys in green’s seamless ascent through qualification thus far, credit unions across the country could be in line for some […] More
A home international on the Thursday and the Dublin derby on the Friday weren’t exactly ideal preparation for the7 hour trek to Moldova on Saturday morning, but the back to back 1-0 victories had the mind in good spirits even if the body was beginning to creak. The fact that the direct flight left at […] More
This article originally appeared on A False First XI… While I find myself as frustrated as anyone with the manner that Ireland approached last night’s game with, I still find it baffling that anyone, whether they be fans, pundits or journalists, expresses any surprise that we play in this fashion. And while the first half […] More
Last night’s performance against Georgia took me back. Back to the end of the Giovanni Trapattoni era, when the crafty Italian had all but accepted the fate of his eventual departure of the Ireland set-up; the final performances against Sweden and Austria were dour, but possibly less so than last-night. What worried me most about last […] More
Ireland beat Georgia 1-0 in a dour contest in Dublin last night. Martin O’Neill’s men were devoid of ideas until the 56th minute, when captain Seamus Coleman scored the solitary goal of the game. Ireland struggled to create any meaningful chances in a first half which could easily have seen Georgia leading at the break. […] More
Martin O’Neill has an injury crisis on his hands just two days before Ireland’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Georgia. Daryl Murphy, Stephen Quinn,Aiden McGeady, Keiren Westwood, Anthony Pilkington and Kevin Doyle will all miss both the Georgia and Moldova games respectively, and several other players are major doubts. Harry Arter, who has been in excellent […] More
