TO THE NATION that brought you the phrase “I’ve had a Macedonia”, the universe has pointed and said, Lads, wait ’til you see that phrase in the future tense.
Yes, Ireland will now have a Macedonia, which is a prospect almost comic in its sheer grimness.
What could have been a home World Cup play-off final and then maybe a first finals appearance in almost a quarter-century and a benign draw and Mexico At The Azteca has instead become a friendly for the dispossessed against North Macedonia.
For once, the bigger picture after an Irish defeat looks reasonably good, but nobody is in a mood yet to step back and take a look at it. This sense of Ireland having colluded in missing out on their own extraordinary opportunity is sickening and will take a long time to overcome.
Alas, all involved have the time they need.
Another edition of football’s greatest banquet will take place without us. Our summer will end with a pre-tournament friendly in Canada, at which point we fly home just as the World Cup gets underway. Even the bridesmaids at least get to attend the wedding bash; Ireland are more akin to the priest who can’t accept an invitation to the reception because he has to attend to a funeral.
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And so we will wheedle our way through friendlies against Granada, Qatar and Canada, before returning for a particularly acrid edition of the Nations League. And while our qualification prospects for Euro 2028 are extremely bright, we won’t be stressing this positive today because frankly Irish football has never found a single fate beyond tempting.
Nathan Collins and the Ireland players applaud the travelling support. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
So what happens now? We are at least spared the circus of a managerial search or contract talks, given Heimir Hallgrimsson has signed a renewal through to said Euros. Hence, Ireland will now be building rather than overhauling and this is something to which we can cling today.
Most important is that Hallgrimsson has given the team a clear identity, on which they can build what is to come. The face at which Ireland now look in the mirror is rugged and gnarled, but they appear to be at ease with it. Hallgrimsson has rediscovered his players’ appetite for a scrap. He was shocked at the extent to which his players were losing duels and challenges when he first took over, but spoke after the Czech defeat of metrics and stats which verify his belief that things have improved: Ireland are now winning more challenges while running harder and faster than they did in his earliest games.
The age of the squad is also encouraging. While Seamus Coleman last night became Ireland’s oldest outfield player since John Aldridge played against, er, Macedonia, he was also the only member of the starting line-up over the age of 30. While not all of Stephen Kenny’s many young debutants have not stuck around, all of Caoimhín Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Jake O’Brien, Jayson Molumby, and Dara O’Shea can provide Ireland’s defensive platform through to the 2030 World Cup. Troy Parrott has meanwhile bloomed into an elite striker capable of leading through action and words: see his series of remarkably lucid post-match interviews after both glory and defeat in recent months as proof of the latter.
Jimmy Dunne hugs with his mother Sharon after the match. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Parrott’s emergence also takes some pressure off Evan Ferguson, who we must remember scored all but one of Ireland’s goals before November. Hallgrimsson’s pragmatism means he is unafraid of casting a wide net, and Harvey Vale will prove to be a canny recruit if he fulfils his potential at club level. Missing out on the World Cup alas means losing an ace card to lay in front of other potential recruits.
But of course there is much for Ireland to improve, too. Coleman’s international career must come to an end at some point, and Hallgrimsson needs to find an aggregate solution for the loss of his leadership and intolerance for low standards. They also need to find more options at left-back and in central-midfield. As regards the latter position, Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney has impressed on loan at St Mirren but is also eligible for England: he needs to be tied down to Ireland as a matter of priority.
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Hallgrimsson must also reckon with Ireland’s eternal failing in possession, and figure out how to better control games. The failure to do this haunted Ireland’s second half in Prague. Finn Azaz has played in a deeper midfield as a means of gambling to chase games, but it is a worthy experiment from the start of games, because there is a gnawing doubt as to how comfortable Hallgrimsson’s Ireland are as a game’s protagonists.
Jimmy Dunne and Ireland must now prepare for Tuesday's friendly against North Macedonia. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The home win over Armenia, for instance, was a dreary toil until Tigran Barseghyan decided to get himself sent off. Ireland need to start making lighter work of minnows, and for this, Hallgrimsson may have to review his tactical approach. The relatively fluid back four trialled at the start of last year was junked after the loss in Yerevan, but it’s worth exhuming later this year with an eye on the longer-term future.
But there’s us going off looking for solace in the future again. The end of this World Cup campaign is a crushing disappointment, but its legacy will be the bandwagon’s jumpstart. Players and fans have been reconnected over these qualifiers; the apathy has been banished and the feeling between the national team and its nation has been rekindled.
As a result of Budapest, the country has found its feelings around the football team again.
Unfortunately, pain is also a feeling.
It is the job of Heimir Hallgrimsson to react differently and use pain merely as information to better shape what is to come.
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Irish football has reasons for optimism despite crushing Prague defeat – it’s just hard to see them today
TO THE NATION that brought you the phrase “I’ve had a Macedonia”, the universe has pointed and said, Lads, wait ’til you see that phrase in the future tense.
Yes, Ireland will now have a Macedonia, which is a prospect almost comic in its sheer grimness.
What could have been a home World Cup play-off final and then maybe a first finals appearance in almost a quarter-century and a benign draw and Mexico At The Azteca has instead become a friendly for the dispossessed against North Macedonia.
For once, the bigger picture after an Irish defeat looks reasonably good, but nobody is in a mood yet to step back and take a look at it. This sense of Ireland having colluded in missing out on their own extraordinary opportunity is sickening and will take a long time to overcome.
Alas, all involved have the time they need.
Another edition of football’s greatest banquet will take place without us. Our summer will end with a pre-tournament friendly in Canada, at which point we fly home just as the World Cup gets underway. Even the bridesmaids at least get to attend the wedding bash; Ireland are more akin to the priest who can’t accept an invitation to the reception because he has to attend to a funeral.
And so we will wheedle our way through friendlies against Granada, Qatar and Canada, before returning for a particularly acrid edition of the Nations League. And while our qualification prospects for Euro 2028 are extremely bright, we won’t be stressing this positive today because frankly Irish football has never found a single fate beyond tempting.
So what happens now? We are at least spared the circus of a managerial search or contract talks, given Heimir Hallgrimsson has signed a renewal through to said Euros. Hence, Ireland will now be building rather than overhauling and this is something to which we can cling today.
Most important is that Hallgrimsson has given the team a clear identity, on which they can build what is to come. The face at which Ireland now look in the mirror is rugged and gnarled, but they appear to be at ease with it. Hallgrimsson has rediscovered his players’ appetite for a scrap. He was shocked at the extent to which his players were losing duels and challenges when he first took over, but spoke after the Czech defeat of metrics and stats which verify his belief that things have improved: Ireland are now winning more challenges while running harder and faster than they did in his earliest games.
The age of the squad is also encouraging. While Seamus Coleman last night became Ireland’s oldest outfield player since John Aldridge played against, er, Macedonia, he was also the only member of the starting line-up over the age of 30. While not all of Stephen Kenny’s many young debutants have not stuck around, all of Caoimhín Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Jake O’Brien, Jayson Molumby, and Dara O’Shea can provide Ireland’s defensive platform through to the 2030 World Cup. Troy Parrott has meanwhile bloomed into an elite striker capable of leading through action and words: see his series of remarkably lucid post-match interviews after both glory and defeat in recent months as proof of the latter.
Parrott’s emergence also takes some pressure off Evan Ferguson, who we must remember scored all but one of Ireland’s goals before November. Hallgrimsson’s pragmatism means he is unafraid of casting a wide net, and Harvey Vale will prove to be a canny recruit if he fulfils his potential at club level. Missing out on the World Cup alas means losing an ace card to lay in front of other potential recruits.
But of course there is much for Ireland to improve, too. Coleman’s international career must come to an end at some point, and Hallgrimsson needs to find an aggregate solution for the loss of his leadership and intolerance for low standards. They also need to find more options at left-back and in central-midfield. As regards the latter position, Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney has impressed on loan at St Mirren but is also eligible for England: he needs to be tied down to Ireland as a matter of priority.
Hallgrimsson must also reckon with Ireland’s eternal failing in possession, and figure out how to better control games. The failure to do this haunted Ireland’s second half in Prague. Finn Azaz has played in a deeper midfield as a means of gambling to chase games, but it is a worthy experiment from the start of games, because there is a gnawing doubt as to how comfortable Hallgrimsson’s Ireland are as a game’s protagonists.
The home win over Armenia, for instance, was a dreary toil until Tigran Barseghyan decided to get himself sent off. Ireland need to start making lighter work of minnows, and for this, Hallgrimsson may have to review his tactical approach. The relatively fluid back four trialled at the start of last year was junked after the loss in Yerevan, but it’s worth exhuming later this year with an eye on the longer-term future.
But there’s us going off looking for solace in the future again. The end of this World Cup campaign is a crushing disappointment, but its legacy will be the bandwagon’s jumpstart. Players and fans have been reconnected over these qualifiers; the apathy has been banished and the feeling between the national team and its nation has been rekindled.
As a result of Budapest, the country has found its feelings around the football team again.
Unfortunately, pain is also a feeling.
It is the job of Heimir Hallgrimsson to react differently and use pain merely as information to better shape what is to come.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ireland MNT picking up the pieces Soccer World Cup play-off