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Matches from the past 12 months as well as any future scheduled matches.<!-- Be sure that all information such as stadia and goalscorers entered into results and fixtures can be cited or verified by the FAI or FIFA -->
Matches from the past 12 months as well as any future scheduled matches.<!-- Be sure that all information such as stadia and goalscorers entered into results and fixtures can be cited or verified by the FAI or FIFA -->


{{Footballbox collapsible
| date = 25 May 2010
| time =
| round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
| team1 = {{Fb-rt|IRL}}
| score = 2 – 1
| report = [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100993:trapattoni-look-to-recover-irelands-championship-verve&catid=1:senior-men&Itemid=8 Report]
| team2 = {{Fb|PAR}}
| goals1 = [[Kevin Doyle|Doyle]] {{Goal|7}}<br />[[Liam Lawrence|Lawrence]] {{Goal|39}}
| goals2 = [[Lucas Barrios|Barrios]] {{Goal|58}}
| stadium = [[RDS Arena]]
| location = [[Dublin]]
| attendance = 16,722
| referee = [[Jerome Laperrière|Laperrière]] ([[Swiss Football Association|Switzerland]])
| assistantreferees =
| fourthofficial =
| goallineassistants =
| result = W
| stack = yes
}}
{{Footballbox collapsible
| date = 28 May 2010
| time =
| round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
| team1 = {{Fb-rt|IRL}}
| score = 3 – 0
| report = [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101006&catid=1&Itemid=8 Report]
| team2 = {{Fb|ALG}}
| goals1 = [[Paul Green (footballer born 1983)|Green]] {{Goal|31}}<br />[[Robbie Keane|Keane]] {{Goal|52||85|pen.}}
| goals2 =
| stadium = [[RDS Arena]]
| location = [[Dublin]]
| attendance = 16,800
| referee = [[Eric Braamhaar|Braamhaar]] ([[Royal Dutch Football Association|Netherlands]])
| assistantreferees =
| fourthofficial =
| goallineassistants =
| aggregatescore =
| penalties1 =
| penaltyscore =
| penalties2 =
| result = W
| stack = yes
}}
{{Footballbox collapsible
{{Footballbox collapsible
| date = 11 August 2010
| date = 11 August 2010

Revision as of 10:05, 19 August 2011

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Republic of Ireland women's national football team.

 Republic of Ireland
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Boys in Green
AssociationFootball Association of Ireland
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachGiovanni Trapattoni
CaptainRobbie Keane
Most capsShay Given (114)
Top scorerRobbie Keane (51)
Home stadiumAviva Stadium
FIFA codeIRL
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current33
Highest6 (August 1993)
Lowest57 (November 1998)
First international
Republic of Ireland Irish Free State 1–0 Bulgaria 
(Colombes, France; 28 May 1924)
Biggest win
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 8–0 Malta 
(Dublin, Ireland; 16 November 1983)
Biggest defeat
 Brazil 7–0 Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
(Uberlândia, Brazil; 27 May 1982)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1990)
Best resultQuarter-finals, 1990
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 1988)
Best resultFirst Round, 1988

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents the nation of Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010.

The team made its debut at the 1924 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. Between 1924 and 1936, the team competed as the Irish Free State and from then until 1950, it was referred to by the FAI as Éire or Ireland.[citation needed] In 1953, FIFA decreed that for competitive matches in tournaments that both Irish teams may enter, the FAI team would be officially called the Republic of Ireland while the IFA team was to be named Northern Ireland (The IFA continued to use the name "Ireland" until 1970 for non-FIFA competitions).[citation needed]

Under the guidance of Jack Charlton and his successor Mick McCarthy, the team enjoyed its most successful era, qualifying for Euro 1988, reaching the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup in their first ever appearance at the finals, and making the last 16 at both the 1994 and 2002 World Cups.

The side was the first team from outside the United Kingdom to defeat England on home soil, at a fixture played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, in 1949. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the 1964 European Nations' Cup.

History

Irish Free State

Between 1882 and 1924, Ireland was represented by a single national football team organised by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. In 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and The Irish Free State (the latter in turn becoming Éire or Ireland after adopting a new Constitution in 1937, followed by declaring itself a republic). Following the initial political upheavals surrounding Partition, a Dublin-based organisation calling itself the Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS) split from the IFA in 1921 and began organising its own league and national football team.

In 1923, the FAIFS was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State[1] and at the 1924 Olympics, the Irish Free State made their international debut. On 28 May at the Stade Olympique, they beat Bulgaria 1–0, with Paddy Duncan scoring the team's first ever goal. As a result of this they qualified for the quarter-finals. [2] [3] On 14 June 1924, the Irish Free State made their home debut against the United States, who had embarked on a brief European tour after competing in the same Olympics. Ed Brookes scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win at Dalymount Park. [4]

The Irish Free State did not play their next game until 21 March 1926. This was an away game against Italy which they lost 3–0. In subsequent years the status of the Olympic Games football competition was downgraded and as a result this game is widely regarded as the Irish Free State's first official game. On 25 February 1934 the Irish Free State made their World Cup debut, drawing 4–4 with Belgium at Dalymount Park in a qualifier. Paddy Moore scored all four of the Free State’s goals and became the first player ever to score four goals in a World Cup game.

Republic of Ireland

Immediately after Partition, the Association in Dublin styled itself the "Football Association of Ireland", but changed to the "Football Association of the Irish Free State" ("FAIFS") following its admission to FIFA in 1924, at which time its representative team called itself the "Irish Free State" . However after 1936, they reverted to the designation "Football Association of Ireland" and began to refer to their team as Éire or "Ireland". During this whole period, there were two Irish international football teams, chosen by two rival Associations. Both Associations, the Northern Ireland - based IFA and the Irish Free State - based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and considered themselves entitled to select players from the whole island. At least thirty-eight dual internationals were selected to represent both teams, [5] however the overwhelming majority of these were Southerners who also agreed to play for the IFA team, with only a bare handful "crossing the border" in the other direction. FIFA eventually intervened when both teams entered the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the first time they had entered the same competition. Four players – Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh and Con Martin – actually played for the two different teams in the same FIFA World Cup tournament.[6] All four players concerned had been born in the Irish Free State and made their full international debut in FAI colours before agreeing to represent the IFA team. This may have alarmed the FAI, since they subsequently lobbied FIFA to prevent the IFA from picking Southern-born players (as well as attempting to exert pressure on the players themselves, sometimes through their clubs). FIFA's response was to restrict players' eligibility on the basis of the (political) border, further ruling in 1953 that neither team could be referred to as Ireland in competitions which both teams were eligible to enter i.e. initially the World Cup and subsequently the European Nations Cup (now the European Championships). FIFA decreed that the FAI team be officially called the Republic of Ireland while the IFA team was to be named Northern Ireland.[7]

Competitive history

A 2–0 win over England at Goodison Park on 21 September 1949, was the first time England suffered a home defeat by a team outside the Home Countries of Scotland, Wales and the Ireland team run by the Belfast based Irish FA.

The 1958 World Cup qualifiers saw the Republic of Ireland drawn with England. In their home game against England, Alf Ringstead put the hosts 1-0 up before John Atyeo equalised in the last minute to salvage a 1–1 draw for England. Under the rules of the day, a win for the Republic of Ireland would have meant a play-off with England for a place in the World Cup.

After reaching the quarter-finals of the 1964 European Nations' Cup, the Republic of Ireland were drawn to face Spain and Syria in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. Despite Syria's withdrawal, this was still considered a qualifying group with the Irish winning 1–0 at home and losing 4–1 away. This meant a play-off in Paris, which Spain won 1–0 to take their place in the 1966 World Cup. The play-off was originally scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium in London, home to a large Irish diaspora, but the FAI agreed with the Spanish FA to have the match moved to Paris, where a large Spanish diaspora lived.[8]

A run of poor results in the late 1960s and early 1970s followed until Johnny Giles became their first player-manager in the 1970s. This was followed by the debut of a young Liam Brady and results improved markedly. The side missed out on the 1978 World Cup by 2 points, having defeated France at home.

Eoin Hand took over as manager for the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, and once more the Republic of Ireland narrowly missed out on qualification, this time on goal difference behind France who they had defeated at home once more. Disappointing qualifying campaigns for both the 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup followed, ending Hand's time in charge.

In the late 1980s the Republic of Ireland appointed Jack Charlton, a top rated English manager and World Cup winner as a player. He had recently built Middlesbrough into a side which provided many players to the Liverpool team of the time. He influenced changes in the Republic of Ireland team which went on to produce a comparatively successful spell of its history, qualifying for two World Cups and a European Championship.[9]

Ireland's first appearance at a major finals tournament came in Euro '88, with qualification being secured through Gary Mackay's famous goal in Sofia that meant Scotland beat Bulgaria 1-0 and left Ireland on top of the group. In the finals in West Germany, Ireland beat England 1–0 in Stuttgart with a header from Ray Houghton, drew 1–1 with the Soviet Union in Hannover, with Ronnie Whelan the scorer, and lost to Holland 1–0 in Gelsenkirchen, coming within 8 minutes of a draw that would have meant a semi-final place.

The Republic of Ireland's longest competitive winning streak was achieved in 1989 during the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. Five games against Spain, Northern Ireland, Hungary and Malta twice, were all wins for the Irish. Subsequently the side made it to Italia '90. Three draws in the group stage against England, Egypt and Holland was enough to make the last 16. Virtually the whole country watched as they beat Romania on penalties with Packie Bonner making a vital save and David O'Leary scoring the decisive spot-kick. Ireland were then beaten 1–0 by Italy in the quarter final in the Olympic Stadium, Rome. During the tournament the team had an audience with Pope John Paul II, and were the only team to do so.[10]

Captain Robbie Keane

Despite missing out on the 1992 European Championships, the Republic of Ireland qualified for USA '94, beating an opponent from the last World Cup, Italy, in their opening game. The side made it to the second round, eventually losing 2–0 to Netherlands. After the Republic of Ireland narrowly missed out on Euro '96, Jack Charlton was replaced by Mick McCarthy but still missed out on the next two major tournaments. McCarthy did manage to lead the side to Japan and Korea in 2002, despite the absence of inspirational captain Roy Keane due to their infamous public spat. The Irish once again going out in the round of 16, only losing on penalties to Spain after Robbie Keane's last minute equaliser forced the game into extra time.

After a poor start to qualifying for Euro 2004, McCarthy was replaced by Brian Kerr but he also struggled to guide the side to the tournament or the following World Cup in Germany. Kerr was then replaced by Steve Staunton in early 2006. Under Staunton, results varied widely but the team still failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and Staunton lost the position in late 2007. Giovanni Trapattoni was then appointed following a spell with assistant coach Don Givens in charge. Trapattoni went through all ten 1st round 2010 World Cup qualifying games unbeaten, winning four of the ten games.[11] Ireland lost out on a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup after losing to France in the play offs. Ireland went down 0–1 in the first leg, and lost 2–1 on aggregate after William Gallas scored a controversial goal in extra time in the second leg after Thierry Henry had handballed twice before crossing the ball.[12]

After the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup, Ireland made a positive start to there Euro 2012 campaign with a 1-0 win in Armenia thanks to a strike by Keith Fahey. They followed that with a 3-1 win against Andorra at home. After losing to Russia at home and drawing with Slovakia away, Ireland were still on course to qualify for the Euro's. In March 2011 Ireland won a crucial qualifying game against Macedonia to keep there hopes of qualifying alive .

In May 2011 Ireland won the Nations Cup against Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland without conceding a goal.

In June 2011 with a makeshift side, Ireland beat Macedonia 2-0 in Skopje

Stadium

Lansdowne Road and Aviva Stadium

Main articles: Lansdowne Road and Aviva Stadium

Since the 1980s, most home matches have been played at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, the national rugby stadium owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The ground was closed for redevelopment in 2007, with the replacement ground, Aviva Stadium, opening on 14 May 2010.[13] Unlike Lansdowne Road, Aviva Stadium is jointly owned by the IRFU and FAI. The first football international played at Lansdowne Road was a friendly against Italy in 1971; a 5-0 victory over San Marino in a Euro 2008 qualifying match on 15 November 2006 was the last game there before the reconstruction. The all-seater capacity of Lansdowne Road prior to the renovation was 36,000, although higher attendances, using the standing only areas, were permitted for friendly matches. Aviva Stadium's status as an all-seater will increase capacity for competitive games to 50,000.

Croke Park

Croke Park
Main article: Croke Park

With the announcement of the rebuilding of Lansdowne Road, a new venue was required to stage the Republic of Ireland's home internationals. The only stadium in Ireland deemed suitable to stage international football was the 82,500 capacity Croke Park, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association. To accommodate this, the GAA temporarily relaxed its rule governing the playing of "foreign" games on its property. Initially, four Euro 2008 qualifiers were played at Croke Park in 2007 resulting in two wins and two draws. The GAA initially agreed to allow the FAI use until the end of 2008, and later extended the permission until the completion of Aviva Stadium. The Hill 16 end of Croke Park is a terrace, which means like Lansdowne Road before it, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to around 74,500 for competitive matches as temporary seating must be used.

Other venues

Prior to the 1980s, the Republic of Ireland played most home games at Dalymount Park, home of Bohemian FC, but progressively more games were played at Lansdowne following a safety review which reduced Dalymount's capacity. The last international match played there was against Morocco in 1990. The Republic of Ireland has also played home matches in Tolka Park (twice) and the RDS Arena in Dublin as well at the Mardyke and Flower Lodge grounds in Cork. These games in Cork were, until 2009, the only two home Irish International played outside of Dublin. During the construction of the Aviva Stadium, 2 friendly games were played in Thomond Park in Limerick. Two further friendlies were played in the RDS Arena in May 2010.

Kit

Traditionally, the team plays in a home strip of green shirt, white shorts and green socks. The second strip is usually the reverse of these colours, although there have been exceptions, such as an orange shirt in the late 1990s.

Ireland players in a 2010 friendly against Algeria

Currently, the kit is supplied by Umbro, and has been since 1995. In March 2009, Umbro signed a deal with the FAI to keep them as kit suppliers to the team until 2020.

Previously O'Neills and Adidas made the team's kit. Shirts carry the logo of telecommunications company 3 across the chest as per terms of a sponsorship agreement, but in all official international games, as per FIFA law, this advertising is absent.

Squad numbers are either white with an orange trim, as is the case with the home shirts, or green with an orange trim. At the bottom of the numbering there is a logo of the FAI.

There is also a limited edition grey shirt available. The team have only ever used it once and that was in a 2-2 draw with Wales on 17 November 2007. A black jersey with a green stripe across the chest was worn in the final game of the 2011 Nations Cup against Scotland and in a friendly which Ireland won 2-0 against Italy in Liège, Belgium.

Media coverage

Games are currently broadcast by RTÉ. Controversially, the FAI sold broadcast rights to SKY Sports, a channel not available terrestrially in the Republic of Ireland, however, the FAI was forced to allow RTÉ to continue its broadcasts.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B standings
Template:UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B
See also: Republic of Ireland national football team 2000s results and Republic of Ireland national football team 2010s results

After finishing as runners-up in Group 8 of World Cup qualification, Ireland were drawn to play France in a play-off over two legs. Ireland lost 2–1 on aggregate after extra time. The winning goal drew controversy after replays showed Sébastien Squillaci offside and in the line of play, and Thierry Henry controlling the ball twice with his forearm and hand before passing to William Gallas to score the winning goal. Desperate protests from Irish players were waved away by the referee. The FAI lodged an official appeal to FIFA, which was denied.[14][15]

For the qualification to UEFA Euro 2012, Ireland were placed in the third of six pots, organised by rankings in the UEFA national team coefficients. They were drawn into Group B with Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Armenia, and Andorra.[16][17]

Match results and fixtures

Matches from the past 12 months as well as any future scheduled matches.

11 August 2010 Friendly Republic of Ireland  0 – 1  Argentina Dublin
19:45 UTC+1 Report Ángel di María 20' Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 49,500
Referee: Peter Rasmussen
3 September 2010 ECQ, GB Armenia  0 – 1  Republic of Ireland Yerevan, Armenia
20:00 UTC+5 Report Fahey 76' Stadium: Hanrapetakan Stadium
Attendance: 8,682
Referee: Zsolt Szabó (Hungary)
7 September 2010 ECQ, GB Republic of Ireland  3 – 1  Andorra Dublin
19:45 UTC+1 Kilbane 15'
Doyle 41'
Keane 54'		 Report Martínez 45' Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 40,283
Referee: Leontios Trattou (Cyprus)
8 October 2010 ECQ, GB Republic of Ireland  2 – 3  Russia Dublin
19:45 UTC+1 Keane 72' (pen.)
Long 78'		 Report Kerzhakov 11'
Dzagoev 29'
Shirokov 50'		 Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 50,411
Referee: Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
12 October 2010 ECQ, GB Slovakia  1 – 1  Republic of Ireland Žilina, Slovakia
20:30 UTC+2 Ďurica 36' Report St Ledger 16' Stadium: Štadión Pod Dubňom
Attendance: 10,892
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
17 November 2010 Friendly Republic of Ireland  1 – 2  Norway Dublin
19:45 UTC+0 Long 5' (pen.) Pedersen 34'
Huseklepp 86'		 Stadium: Aviva Stadium
8 February 2011 Nations Cup Republic of Ireland  3 – 0  Wales Dublin
19:45 UTC+0 Gibson 60'
Duff 67'
Fahey 82'		 Report Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 19,783
Referee: Mark Courtney (Northern Ireland)
26 March 2011 ECQ, GB Republic of Ireland  2 – 1  North Macedonia Dublin
19:45 UTC±0 McGeady 2'
Keane 22'		 Report Tričkovski 45' Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: István Vad (Hungary)
29 March 2011 Friendly Republic of Ireland  2 – 3  Uruguay Dublin
19:45 UTC+1 Long 15'
Fahey 49' (pen.)		 Lugano 12'
Cavani 22'
Hernández 39'		 Stadium: Aviva Stadium
24 May 2011 Nations Cup Republic of Ireland  5 – 0  Northern Ireland Dublin
19:45 UTC+0 Ward 24'
Keane 37' 54' (pen)
Cathcart 45' (OG)
Cox 80'		 Report Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 15'000
Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland)
29 May 2011 Nations Cup Republic of Ireland  1 – 0  Scotland Dublin
18:30 UTC+0 Keane 23' Report Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 17,694
Referee: Mark Whitby (Wales)
4 June 2011 ECQ, GB North Macedonia  0 – 2  Republic of Ireland Skopje, Macedonia
21:30 UTC+1 Report Keane 8' 37' Stadium: Philip II Arena
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany)
7 June 2011 Friendly Italy  0 – 2  Republic of Ireland Liège, Belgium
20:45 UTC+1 Report Andrews 36'
Cox 90'		 Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Referee: Serge Gumienny (Belgium)
10 August 2011 Friendly Republic of Ireland  0 – 0  Croatia Dublin
19:45 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Referee: Tom Harold Hagen (Norway)
2 September 2011 ECQ, GB Republic of Ireland  v  Slovakia Dublin
Stadium: Aviva Stadium
6 September 2011 ECQ, GB Russia  v  Republic of Ireland Moscow, Russia
7 October 2011 ECQ, GB Andorra  v  Republic of Ireland Barcelona, Spain
Stadium: Mini Estadi
11 October 2011 ECQ, GB Republic of Ireland  v  Armenia Dublin
Stadium: Aviva Stadium

Competitive record

See also: Republic of Ireland national football team - record in major tournaments and Republic of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup
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