2011 Nations Cup
| File:Nations Cup (football) logo.jpg | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Republic of Ireland |
| City | Dublin |
| Dates | 8 February – 29 May 2011 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | Aviva Stadium |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Republic of Ireland (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Scotland |
| Third place |  Wales |
| Fourth place |  Northern Ireland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 18 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 74,867 (12,478 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Robbie Keane (3) |
The 2011 Nations Cup (also known as the Carling Nations Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural round-robin football tournament between the Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales national teams.[1] The first set of two games were played in Dublin in February, with the remaining four games played in May 2011.[1][2][3] It was won by the Republic of Ireland, who won all three of their games without conceding a goal.[4][5]
Venue
The newly rebuilt Aviva Stadium was chosen to host all six games of the 2011 tournament.
| Dublin |
|---|
| Aviva Stadium |
| Capacity: 51,700 |
.JPG)
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Referees
Tomas Connolly
Mark Courtney- Raymond Crangle
- Alan Kelly
Craig Thomson
Mark Whitby
Standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 9 |
| Scotland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
| Wales
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 |
| Northern Ireland
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
All times are local.
Fixtures
Republic of Ireland v Wales
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Northern Ireland v Scotland
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Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland
| Republic of Ireland | 5–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
Ward  24'Keane 37', 54' (pen.)Cathcart 45' (o.g.)Cox 80' |
Report |
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Wales v Scotland
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Wales v Northern Ireland
| Wales | 2–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Ramsey 36' Earnshaw 69' |
Report |
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Republic of Ireland v Scotland
| Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Keane 23' |
Report |
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Scorers
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Christophe Berra
- Kris Commons
- Simon Cox
- Damien Duff
- Keith Fahey
- Darron Gibson
- James McArthur
- James Morrison
- Aaron Ramsey
- Stephen Ward
- 1 goal (own goal)
Media coverage
Every match of the tournament was shown live on Sky Sports (also on Sky 3D), with the Wales matches simulcasted live with Welsh language commentary on S4C.[6]
United Kingdom & Ireland: Sky Sports
- Ireland: RTÉ (Highlights of all matches)
- Northern Ireland: BBC Northern Ireland (Highlights of Northern Irish matches only)
- Wales: S4C (Welsh matches only)
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Criticism
The Football Association of Ireland was criticised by the media, supporters and other football associations for setting high ticket prices. The 51,700-capacity Aviva Stadium was less than half-full for all of the games.[7][8] The game between Wales and Northern Ireland was attended by only 529 fans, many of whom were Scots who happened to be in Dublin for their country's game two days later.
Northern Ireland fans were criticised for singing sectarian chants at games.[9] During the game between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Republic fans booed "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of Northern Ireland, and Northern Ireland fans booed the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, as she greeted players before the game.[10][11] Scotland fans also booed "God Save the Queen", when playing Northern Ireland.[12]
Wales manager Gary Speed criticised the tournament organisers for scheduling Wales' games to be within three days of each other, the only team to suffer such timing. He also criticised the officiating in the game against Scotland, in which in his opinion several fouls on Welsh players went unpunished.[13][14]
References
- ^ a b Forbes, Craig (13 August 2010). "England no great loss to Nations Cup, says Burley". The Scotsman. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ "Dates Announced For 4 Associations' Tournament In Dublin 2011". faw.org.uk. Football Association of Wales. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "4 Associations Tournament Announced for Dublin 2011". fai.ie. Football Association of Ireland. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Robbie Keane earns Ireland deciding win over Scotland in Nations Cup". Guardian. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ "Keane equals record and secures title". Irish Times. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ "Carling Nations Cup announces broadcast partnership with Sky Sports 3D". fai.ie. Football Association of Ireland. 17 December 2001. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Norn Iron fans set to stage Aviva boycott". JOE.ie. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Ghost town expected at the Aviva Stadium". JOE.ie. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Anger at Sectarian songs after NI game". UTV. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Bragging rights for Republic". Examiner. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "As it happened: Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland". TheScore.ie. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ Murray, Euan (9 February 2011). "Scotland sweep aside Northern Ireland in Nations Cup". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Wales manager Gary Speed condemns Charlie Adam's challenge". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "Wales are Carling Cup 'poor relations' says Gary Speed". BBC News. BBC. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)