Friendlies can help Republic of Ireland prepare for World Cup campaign
The Icelander, who is eight games into the role and to date has enjoyed modest success, took up the reins targeting qualification for next summer's finals, and now has just two matches left in which to finalise his plans.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the first of them.
FT | League B status retained! pic.twitter.com/9HCqWcdyjz
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 23, 2025
Ireland may have slipped to 60th place in FIFA's world rankings, but they will head into the Senegal game with four wins in eight outings under their new head coach. While home and away defeats to England and Greece may not have come as a surprise, home and away wins over Finland and Bulgaria brought a more positive conclusion to the Nations League campaign, and Hallgrimsson's team will run out at the Aviva Stadium with three victories in their last four matches.
Our 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture schedule has been revealed 🇮🇪🤩
We'll begin our campaign at home to Hungary next September 💪
Secure your seat for an exciting 2025 season now 🎟️👉 https://t.co/B27o62TWUp pic.twitter.com/6fP2g37Iz4
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) December 13, 2024
Every step the Icelander has taken so far has been geared towards preparing his team for World Cup qualification. That process begins in September when Ireland face Hungary and Armenia away in fixtures which could go a long way towards determining how they fare in a four-team group which also includes Portugal. The friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg – in which most of Hallgrimsson's Sky Bet Championship players will not be involved – provide a final chance to nail down a plan.
Successive Ireland managers have bemoaned a lack of players playing regularly in Premier League teams, and one has taken decisive action during the current window. Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who has established himself as Hallgrimsson's number one, was allowed to leave the camp to tie up an £18million switch from Liverpool to Brentford which he will hope gives him the football he craves and in turn, secure his place in the national team.
Evan Ferguson, Troy Parrott and Adam Idah find themselves battling for a place in Ireland's starting line-up with their new boss still working to find the right balance in attack. AZ Alkmaar's Parrott has been the man in form and Celtic frontman Idah ended an at times difficult season with 20 goals and two trophies, while Ferguson, who spent the second half of the campaign on loan at West Ham from Brighton, barely kicked a ball in anger.
Senegal are ranked 19th in the world for a reason, and a glance at the list of players available to head coach Pape Thiaw illustrates why they are so highly-regarded. Among his big names are Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, Villarreal's Pape Gueye, Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham, Crystal Palace striker Ismaila Sarr and Chelsea counterpart Nicolas Jackson.
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South Wales Guardian
21 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Kasey McAteer scores as Republic of Ireland and Senegal play out draw in Dublin
The Irish delivered a performance full of industry in their first-ever encounter with the Senegalese at the Aviva Stadium. Leicester's McAteer and Ipswich's Jack Taylor made their first starts for Ireland with head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson looking at his options ahead of the beginning of the World Cup qualifying campaign in September. Senegal, ranked 19th by FIFA, some 41 places higher than the Republic, named an experimental side with only two starters remaining from their recent World Cup qualifying win over Togo. The west African side started brightly, controlling possession in the early stages and keeping the pressure on Ireland with two corners. However, Ireland grew in stature throughout the first half and opened the scoring through McAteer in the 21st minute when Senegal failed to clear a corner. Ryan Manning crossed and Nathan Collins headed it on to McAteer. His initial header was wonderfully saved by Yehvann Diouf, but the forward kept his composure to control the rebound and fire it home. The Irish stayed on the front foot for the rest of the half, showing good energy as they moved the ball quickly between defence and attack, seeming to rattle the Senegalese, who were defending a 20-match unbeaten run. Ireland's Player of the Match against Senegal is our goalscorer – Kasey McAteer! 🇮🇪 — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 6, 2025 Antoine Mendy had the visitors' best chance of the half, but he screwed his shot from the edge of the box high and wide. Irish goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, recently signed by Brentford from Liverpool, had virtually nothing to do before the break. The second half started in similar positive fashion for Ireland and Southampton's Will Smallbone should have doubled their lead but shot straight at the keeper. Ryan Manning attempted to fire in the rebound but it was brilliantly blocked by Mendy. With the game opening up, Senegal almost equalised moments later when Kelleher got the faintest of touches onto Krepin Diatta's header which crashed against the crossbar. After the hour mark, both sides made a series of changes, with Senegal introducing promising 21-year-old Lamine Camara, who has already played in the Champions League for Monaco, and Crystal Palace's FA Cup winner Ismaila Sarr. Camara almost made an immediate impact when his shot was deflected onto a post before being scrambled away by Kelleher. The threat from Senegal grew as the game wore on. However Ismail Jakob's ambitious effort to score from outside the box sailed high over the bar. The Irish invited pressure by defending deeper late in the second half. McAteer, who had run tirelessly throughout, was replaced in the 80th minute as was Smallbone as the Republic turned towards fresh legs. However, Senegal's pressure told when substitute Sarr poked home in the 82nd minute shortly after Kelleher had saved with his feet. Senegal had a free-kick on the edge of the box deep in injury time as tempers flared between the two teams, but Camara failed to get it over the defending wall. The match did not have the feel of a friendly as both Ireland and Senegal went for the win, but ultimately both will be satisfied with the draw.
Glasgow Times
22 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Kasey McAteer scores as Republic of Ireland and Senegal play out draw in Dublin
The Irish delivered a performance full of industry in their first-ever encounter with the Senegalese at the Aviva Stadium. Leicester's McAteer and Ipswich's Jack Taylor made their first starts for Ireland with head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson looking at his options ahead of the beginning of the World Cup qualifying campaign in September. Republic of Ireland's Robbie Brady (right) and Senegal's Abdallah Sima battle for the ball (Evan Treacy/PA) Senegal, ranked 19th by FIFA, some 41 places higher than the Republic, named an experimental side with only two starters remaining from their recent World Cup qualifying win over Togo. The west African side started brightly, controlling possession in the early stages and keeping the pressure on Ireland with two corners. However, Ireland grew in stature throughout the first half and opened the scoring through McAteer in the 21st minute when Senegal failed to clear a corner. Ryan Manning crossed and Nathan Collins headed it on to McAteer. His initial header was wonderfully saved by Yehvann Diouf, but the forward kept his composure to control the rebound and fire it home. The Irish stayed on the front foot for the rest of the half, showing good energy as they moved the ball quickly between defence and attack, seeming to rattle the Senegalese, who were defending a 20-match unbeaten run. Ireland's Player of the Match against Senegal is our goalscorer – Kasey McAteer! 🇮🇪 — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 6, 2025 Antoine Mendy had the visitors' best chance of the half, but he screwed his shot from the edge of the box high and wide. Irish goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, recently signed by Brentford from Liverpool, had virtually nothing to do before the break. The second half started in similar positive fashion for Ireland and Southampton's Will Smallbone should have doubled their lead but shot straight at the keeper. Ryan Manning attempted to fire in the rebound but it was brilliantly blocked by Mendy. With the game opening up, Senegal almost equalised moments later when Kelleher got the faintest of touches onto Krepin Diatta's header which crashed against the crossbar. After the hour mark, both sides made a series of changes, with Senegal introducing promising 21-year-old Lamine Camara, who has already played in the Champions League for Monaco, and Crystal Palace's FA Cup winner Ismaila Sarr. Camara almost made an immediate impact when his shot was deflected onto a post before being scrambled away by Kelleher. Republic of Ireland's Will Smallbone (centre) attempts a shot towards goal during the international friendly (Evan Treacy/PA) The threat from Senegal grew as the game wore on. However Ismail Jakob's ambitious effort to score from outside the box sailed high over the bar. The Irish invited pressure by defending deeper late in the second half. McAteer, who had run tirelessly throughout, was replaced in the 80th minute as was Smallbone as the Republic turned towards fresh legs. However, Senegal's pressure told when substitute Sarr poked home in the 82nd minute shortly after Kelleher had saved with his feet. Senegal had a free-kick on the edge of the box deep in injury time as tempers flared between the two teams, but Camara failed to get it over the defending wall. The match did not have the feel of a friendly as both Ireland and Senegal went for the win, but ultimately both will be satisfied with the draw.
Daily Record
32 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Cieran Slicker sees Scotland dream become a nightmare as Clarke's men make the case for friendly ban
Worrying signs with World Cup qualification coming up as rare Clarke experiments fall flat in yet another home defeat IT should have been a dream debut for young Scotland keeper Cieran Slicker. But instead his Hampden bow against Iceland turned into a nightmare. And it's doubtful whether the 22-year-old will sleep a wink tonight. The Oldham-born kid was thrown on after just six minutes for his first Scotland cap but was at fault for ALL of Iceland's goals as the visitors inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Steve Clarke 's side. Goals from Andri Gudjohnsen, Victor Palsson and a Lewis Ferguson OG condemned the Scots to an embarrassing home loss. And ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers which kick off in September, it was far from ideal preparation. Clarke gave first starts to Max Johnston and George Hirst - and Lennon Miller got his first cap from the bench - but it was young Ipswich stopper Slicker who grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons. After replacing the injured Angus Gunn early on, a poor clearance resulted in Iceland going one up, then he let Ferguson's deflection slip under him. John Souttar pulled a goal back for Scotland but when Slicker flapped at Palsson's header, the Icelanders secured the victory. Here are Record Sport's five talking points from Hampden: Friendly ban required Scotland should be banned from playing friendlies. The Nations League has been a God-send in that regard, in that we haven't had to feature in too many in recent years. But given our record, it would be better if we didn't have to play any at all. And last night's horror show against Iceland at Hampden just added to the catalogue of friendly disasters. Since Clarke took charge in 2019, he's now played 12 of them and won just TWO - against Luxembourg and Gibraltar. As a nation, we've won three of our last 21. When we were preparing for Euro 2024 last summer, we lined up Finland and Northern Ireland as supposed cannon fodder before we headed off to Germany. But we couldn't beat either of them. It was the same last night - Iceland should have been disposed of comfortably as we look to build momentum ahead of the World Cup qualifiers. Instead, a woeful performance resulted in jeering from the home crowd and our confidence suffering yet another blow after a 3-0 defeat to Greece last time out. Slick as a dog Ciaran Slicker has only played nine MINUTES of competitive football since August 2023 - as a sub in an FA Cup tie for Ipswich against Bristol Rovers. When his name was called out over the Hampden tannoy last night, you got the impression that most of the Tartan Army punters had never heard of him. The young keeper was thrown on for his debut in place of injured Angus Gunn early on. Almost immediately he gave the ball away from a clearance - and Iceland striker Gudjohnsen buried it in the top corner. Before the break, his butter fingers allowed Lewis Ferguson's OG to slip past him as well. Then in the second half, he tried to produce a World Cup save from a header that was straight at him by parrying it over the bar - only to see the ball go through him into the net. Slicker's introduction only highlighted a huge problem for Clarke - we have a dearth of quality keepers good enough for Scotland. Daunting Denmark date It's probably just as well the 2026 World Cup qualifiers don't start until September for Scotland. Because judging by this performance, there's so much work to do before the serious stuff starts. These games are supposed to be for honing systems and patterns of play - developing a formation and style before attacking the qualifiers. But if anything, this display set Clarke's team back. At the end of a long, hard campaign it's understandable that players look jaded and in need of a break. But the lack of cohesion, tempo and speed of Scotland's passing should be a concern for the manager. A chronic lack of width is another problem which needs to be addressed quickly, along with the troublesome goalkeeping situation. This certainly did nothing to get the Tartan Army excited and on board again. And come September 5 when we go away to Denmark to play a top side in our first World Cup game - these players will need to find their A game if we want to dream of going to USA, Canada and Mexico. 50th cap to forget for KT Kieran Tierney took his place in the SFA's Roll of Honour by earning a milestone 50th cap at Hampden, as Steve Clarke again deployed a back five to get the Celtic-bound defender into his Scotland team. He was used as a left centre-back in the hope of him linking up with skipper Andy Robertson down that side. But it wasn't a great night, even for Scotland's best players, as Clarke's side toiled against the Icelanders and suffered a humiliating defeat. Thankfully, Celtic fans already know all about Tierney's quality and what he'll bring to their side next season. And after finally leaving Arsenal, it would have been nice for Hoops supporters just to see their prodigal son back in Glasgow again. Hirst trap Cautious Clarke joked at his pre-match press conference that he rarely experiments with a Scotland team. But he did give a couple of young players their debuts in Johnston at right-back and Hirst up front. And despite the ropey performance, both players will be better for their first Scotland starts. Sturm Graz ace Johnston deserved his chance after a terrific season in Austria. He fluffed his lines with a chance at the back post but he showed promise on the flank with his energy and athleticism. Hirst was given an opportunity ahead of Che Adams and he could have had a double in the first 45. He just couldn't jump high enough for a header over the bar - but was unlucky with a shot that looked destined for the top corner before Iceland's keeper clawed it wide. After the break, he looked sharp again with a six-yard effort the keeper kept out and he thought he'd scored a tap-in only for it to be chalked off by VAR for offside.
