The good, the bad and the ugly of Ireland's international year
Mirror Sport casts a festive eye over Ireland's roller-coaster fortunes in 2024 ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in 2025
Just when we thought Ireland’s year on the international stage might finish on an upward trajectory, they go and get smashed 5-0 by England.
The back-to-back Nations League wins over Finland had put some pep in the step of Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side.
But what unfolded at Wembley in November was a stark reminder of the tough road ahead for this team.
Ireland are back in action in March for a two-legged Nations League promotion-relegation playoff against Bulgaria, for the right to stay / play in League B.
After that it’s a handful of June friendlies before the serious business of a condensed World Cup qualifying campaign from September to November.
Portugal and Denmark clash in a Nations League game in March and the winner will be top seeds in Ireland’s World Cup group.
Hungary and Armenia are the other sides with first-place securing automatic qualification to the 2026 finals, and second-place booking a playoff semi-final.
Ahead of those games, Mirror Sport casts a Christmas Day eye over the good, bad and ugly of Ireland’s 2024.
THE GOOD…..
The Appointment
Where were you when the 231-day saga ended? OK, it’s not exactly one of those life defining moments you’ll never forget but if you’re immersed in Irish football, July 10, 2025 was a good day. Good in the sense that it brought closure to a ludicrously long managerial hunt for Stephen Kenny’s successor. The email that slipped into inboxes at 3.25pm confirmed the news of Heimir Hallgrimsson’s left-field appointment, bringing a welcomed end to the seven-month search. In an unremarkable year on the pitch, this now passes as a highlight of the year.
Beating Hungary
John O’Shea’s four-game spell as interim manager started in March with a home draw against Belgium and a narrow defeat to Switzerland, so the 2-1 home win over Hungary in June was a timely shot in the arm. Troy Parrott and Adam Idah scored the goals to end Hungary’s 14-game unbeaten run. They were some people’s dark horses to go deep at Euro 2024, but Hungary actually had a terrible tournament and failed to make it out of their group. Ireland will play them again in the World Cup qualifiers.
Helsinki heroics
Let’s not lose the run of ourselves here as Finland are no great shakes - but neither are Ireland. Robbie Brady was reeling in the years with his late, late winner after Festy Ebosele came off the bench to thrill the fans and set the Preston North End man up with a sublime cross. It felt like a turning point for an Ireland team finding wins hard to come back and Heimir Hallgrimsson was genuinely taken aback by the outpouring of love for him and the players from the travelling fans in Helsinki after the final whistle. A small stepping stone, but a significant one all the same and Ireland followed up with a home win over the Finns a month later.
Liam Scales
Hallgrimsson made it clear that he doesn’t want constant rotation of his teams and would prefer players to step up and seize any opportunities afforded to them. Celtic man Scales took his. While Stephen Kenny brought him into the international fold, appearances were hard to come by but Hallgrimsson put his faith in the Wicklow man and that was rewarded with the headed equaliser in Helsinki that paved the way for Robbie Brady’s late winner. Scales’ subsequent red card in Wembley led to Ireland’s downfall in that 5-0 horror show against England, but scratch that off and the former Shamrock Rovers man made giant strides in 2024.
Sammie Szmodics
2024 was a tough year for Evan Ferguson, with the ankle injury he shipped in April sidelining him for the remainder of the season, forcing him out of Ireland’s games in June. He has fallen down the pecking order at Brighton as a result and looks poised for a loan move in January. Szmodics’ arrival as an Irish international should ease the pressure on Ferguson to be at his best every time he plays. Top scorer in the Championship last season at Blackburn, Szmodics is now a Premier League regular at Ipswich and while he has yet to score for Ireland, he has gone close a number of times and it’s a matter of when, not if, he gets up and running because he’s always a threat.
THE BAD ……
Greece lightening
Ireland are officially sick of the sight of Greece, after they torpedoed Stephen Kenny’s Euro 2024 hopes with home and away wins over the Boys in Green before repeating the trick against Hallgrimsson’s men. The new Ireland boss was only finding his feet and trying to familiarise himself with the players when Greece strolled to a September win in Dublin in his second game in charge. If the FAI - as they repeatedly claim - really had identified Hallgrimsson as their preferred choice much earlier in the year, why was there such a clear and obvious ‘getting to know you’ vibe around his opening games with England and Greece, where he made no apologies for taking a back seat.
Concentration levels
Nathan Collins has stepped up as interim captain in Seamus Coleman’s absence and looks set to land the armband on a regular basis whenever the Everton stalwart does call time on his Ireland career. And Caoimhin Kelleher has capitalised on Gavin Bazunu’s long-term injury to nail down the No 1 spot between the posts. But both Collins and Kelleher are still prone to an all-too-casual error, as seen when gifting goals in Finland and Greece respectively. Collins in particular needs to tighten up aspects of his game going into the World Cup campaign.
Winners mentality?
Hallgrimsson wants to make Ireland hard to beat again, and he won’t get too many complaints there. But if Ireland are serious about their work in 2025, they need to find ways to win games too. From their 10 matches in 2024, they only scored five goals and conceded 17. It’s irrelevant that five of those came in the one game against England. Conceded goals are conceded goals. For the first time in a long time, Ireland have good goal scoring options but those strikers need to start weighing in with a return.
Ogbene injury
While Gavin Bazunu is edging closer to his return from a lengthy achilles injury, Chiedozie Ogbene won’t be seen again this season after suffering one of his own. The timing couldn’t have been more cruel for the Cork man, coming so soon after his move back into the Premier League with Ireland. His absence will also be keenly felt for Ireland but the fact Ireland are in a four-team World Cup qualifying group, rather than five, plays into his hands as the campaign doesn’t start until September. He will miss the Nations League playoff with Bulgaria in March and the June friendlies against as yet unknown opposition, but that September date provides clear focus for a return.
AND THE UGLY ….
There’s only one point of reference here - Ireland’s remarkable second-half meltdown away to England at Wembley in November. Hallgrimsson’s first-half gameplan was working pretty well with Ireland frustrating the Three Lions and centre-back Nathan Collins putting himself about in a spoiling sense as an additional midfielder. But Liam Scales’ early red card allowed the floodgates to open, although some of Ireland’s defending was comical and needlessly hopeless. Back to back wins over Finland gave Ireland some confidence going into the game, but if ever there was a stark warning that this team still has a long, long way to go, this was it.
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