logo
Ireland team named for Senegal friendly, here's how we think it will shape up

Ireland team named for Senegal friendly, here's how we think it will shape up

There are no uncapped players in Heimir Hallgrímsson's starting-11 for Friday night's friendly against Senegal - but there is a return to the line-up for Southampton's Will Smallbone.
Smallbone struggled for game-time this past season with the Saints, with just six of his 18 Premier League appearances coming as a starter.
A starter in Hallgrímsson's first two games in charge - against England and Greece - this is the 25-year-old's first taste of international action since last September.
He will likely be handed the support role to Adam Idah, who has claimed a starting spot ahead of Evan Ferguson and Troy Parrott.
Idah finished the season at Celtic with 20 goals, a Scottish Premiership winners' medal and a Scottish Cup runners-up gong.
While Parrott had an outstanding campaign for AZ Alkmaar, injury sidelined him in the final weeks, and Ferguson's woes on-loan at West Ham are well documented by now.
We expect Hallgrímsson to run with a back-four - with Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea and Robbie Brady playing in front of new Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Leicester City's Kasey McAteer, fresh from his first Premier League goal, scored against Ipswich Town, could flank Jason Knight and Jack Taylor, with Ryan Manning on the other side.
On the bench, Shamrock Rovers' Josh Honohan, Stade Reims midfielder John Patrick, and former Drogheda United man Killian Phillips will all hope to win their first cap.
Goalkeepers Max O'Leary and Josh Keeley make up the uncapped five.
Ireland: Caoimhín Kelleher; Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady; Jason Knight, Jack Taylor, Will Smallbone, Kasey McAteer, Ryan Manning; Adam Idah

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘They looked bored' – Roy Keane slams England's ‘poor attitude' as Thomas Tuchel admits ‘I didn't like' Andorra effort
‘They looked bored' – Roy Keane slams England's ‘poor attitude' as Thomas Tuchel admits ‘I didn't like' Andorra effort

The Irish Sun

time35 minutes ago

  • The Irish Sun

‘They looked bored' – Roy Keane slams England's ‘poor attitude' as Thomas Tuchel admits ‘I didn't like' Andorra effort

ROY KEANE blasted England's "poor" attitude in their limp 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra. The Republic of Ireland legend accused the Three Lions of "looking bored" in 3 Roy Keane laid into England's 'poor' attitude in their limp 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra 3 Thomas Tuchel was also left concerned by England's efforts England made it , who hasn't conceded a goal yet, but their performance left a lot to be desired . After a dreary first half, which saw , Harry Kane found a breakthrough by tapping in That ended up as the only goal in the entire 93 minutes as Tuchel's players were accused of playing "walking football " by Keane's ITV co-panellist Karen Carney against the minnows. Keane, 53, was also critical of Kane's post-match assessment which included the captain saying, "We take the points and move on." READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS The iconic "You should be setting your standards higher than that. You should be saying they should have scored three or four more. "We defend the players, say it's the end of the season and talk about the hot conditions, and Kane looked shattered. "I worry when I see players getting bored. I felt some of the players got bored in the last half an hour and I don't like to see that. Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS "It's when the goal went in, it was job done. It's Andorra - go and get some more goals! Tuchel has since seemingly agreed, saying that England "played with fire". Andorra v England match played in near empty stadium The German boss said: "I didn't like the attitude how we ended the game, not the whole game, it's a big difference. "I liked the attitude in the first 25 minutes, but I didn't like the last half an hour. We lacked the seriousness and urgency needed in a World Cup qualifier. "We played with fire and I didn't like the attitude at the end. I didn't like the body language, and I don't think it's what the occasion needed." Tuchel also told Three Lions fans their vile chants about Prime Minister Keir Starmer were "not acceptable." Some of the travelling supporters called Starmer a "c**t", "w**ker" and "nonce", as well as singing "no surrender" during the national anthem in a reference to the IRA. The RCDE stadium, home of Spanish side , looked Sparse pockets of fans spread across the stands in with just shy of 7,000 tickets sold to England fans for the match inside the 40,000-seat stadiu m. 3

Who is Kasey McAteer? Ireland star on upbringing and idolising Jamie Vardy
Who is Kasey McAteer? Ireland star on upbringing and idolising Jamie Vardy

Irish Daily Mirror

time41 minutes ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Who is Kasey McAteer? Ireland star on upbringing and idolising Jamie Vardy

Kasey McAteer will never forget his magical moment last Friday, when he spun and drilled home his first ever goal in international football. The Leicester City winger is still only 23 years of age but he has already achieved a lot in the game, including a first Premier League goal and a breakthrough for Ireland. Reflecting on his time so far in the game, there have been plenty of pinch-me moments for the youngster who joined the Leicester City academy at the age of just eight. He was a regular at Foxes matches - and even took on the role of ball boy - as he watched Jamie Vardy score goal after goal during an incredible 13-season career at the club. 'It means everything, it's like a dream come true playing for this club,' he told the Leicester City website. 'It's all I've ever wanted to do since I was a kid. 'I remember I was 13, 14 watching Vards (Jamie Vardy) play and score goals in the Premier League and now I've sat opposite him in the dressing room. It's quite surreal when you think about it in that sense.' McAteer was just eight years old when he was snapped up by the Leicester City Academy. He is quick to pay tribute to his parents for their roles in his success. 'My mum and dad would make four or five trips a week when I was a boy, from the age of nine to when I was about 14,' he said. 'That was five years of their life they were sacrificing to bring me after work. 'They gave up a lot and, when I left home, it was a sad moment for me. My dad told me that he had a little cry. But they knew to look at the bigger picture and that it was about giving me the opportunity. 'I always say that my dad was my first ever coach and I would like to say me moving paid off. They (my parents) do tell me how proud they are and hopefully I can keep making them proud.' He was one of a number of academy players to graduate to the first-team. 'There's so many that have come through the Academy; myself, Luke [Thomas], Hamz [Hamza Choudhury], Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall], who has obviously moved on, and Ben Chilwell,' he said. 'You can see that there is a pathway because, in recent years, the club has done really well in bringing young players through and long may that continue.' During his time at Leicester, he had loan spells at Forest Green Rovers (2021/22) and Wimbledon (2022/23). He scored his first Premier League goal in their win over Ipswich Town in May. McAteer was originally targeted by Stephen Kenny, but his paperwork didn't come through until after Heimir Hallgrímsson's appointment. With an Offaly grandmother and a Belfast grandfather, and with Kenny's fondness for skillful and speedy wingers, once his eligibility was known, efforts were made to bring him into the fold. His first call-up came for the Nations League games at home to England and Greece last September - Hallgrímsson's first games in charge. He made his debut off the bench against England and was capped three more times, before McAteer was handed his first start last Friday night in the 1-1 draw with Senegal. He opened the scoring and afterwards described his goal as 'a dream come true.' 'I'm over the moon, I think you can tell by my celebrations – it was like a dream come true,' he told RTE. 'It was my first night here at the Aviva – hopefully many more to come – but good to get myself on the scoresheet. 'Shame we couldn't hold on for the result to get the win, but Senegal are a really good team and we'll take it in our stride.' McAteer added: 'The main thing is to get this country to the World Cup and that's our aim. Every friendly game we need to build and hopefully we'll get ourselves there in the future.'

England booed off as Kane (just about) spares blushes against world #173 Andorra
England booed off as Kane (just about) spares blushes against world #173 Andorra

The 42

time43 minutes ago

  • The 42

England booed off as Kane (just about) spares blushes against world #173 Andorra

HARRY KANE SPARED woeful England's blushes as his second half strike sealed a lacklustre 1-0 win against minnows Andorra in Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Barcelona. Thomas Tuchel's side were booed off by England fans in the RCDE Stadium after failing to impress against a team ranked 173rd in the world. Kane's 72nd international goal ensured England avoided the ultimate embarrassment of failing to beat such lowly opposition. Tuchel is the first England manager to win his first three competitive games without conceding a goal. But given the paucity of opposition provided by Andorra, Latvia and Albania in the Group K qualifiers, that achievement rings a little hollow after this miserable display. England take the lead 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽ Harry Kane — Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) June 7, 2025 Tuchel had warned that England's tired stars should not be expected to thrash Andorra after gruelling domestic seasons. The German cited the motivational difficulties posed by the summer international break, just before nine of his players jet off to the Club World Cup in the United States. His fears proved prescient as England laboured to establish any rhythm in a soporific match with the feel of a pre-season friendly. Advertisement It was a far cry from the pulsating drama produced by Spain and France in their recent Nations League semi-final, underlining the task facing Tuchel as he builds up to the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel didn't help England's cause by fielding an experimental side. Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones started at right-back and Chelsea right-back Reece James featured at left-back. With Declan Rice rested, Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson, 34, made his first England start since 2023, becoming the Three Lions' oldest player since Frank Lampard 11 years ago. Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka was left out after only completing one training session this week, leaving Noni Madueke, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer to line up behind striker Harry Kane. Full Time in Barcelona Andorra 0-1 England 🇦🇩 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 — Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) June 7, 2025 - Bereft of ideas - Chelsea winger Madueke impressed but Palmer and Rogers were underwhelming. Andorra hadn't scored an international goal for more than two years and they quickly settled into a defensive formation that allowed England to monopolise possession. As Tuchel had predicted, England didn't find it easy to prise open a massed Andorra defence featuring nine men behind the ball at all times. Madueke's drive from the edge of the area was pushed away by Andorra keeper Iker Alvarez. Kane should have broken the deadlock with a close-range chance from Jones' cut-back, but the England captain prodded wastefully wide. Biel Borra fired over from distance in a rare Andorran venture into the England half, which ranked as an improvement on a defeat without mustering a single shot against Albania in March. Given Tuchel's desire to see his player perform in the warm Catalan temperatures ahead of the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, it was instructive to see England struggle to find the energy and purpose required to make Andorra uncomfortable. They moved the ball too slowly, and were reduced them to hopeful efforts from distance, with Jude Bellingham's 25-yard shot comfortably saved by Alvarez. By the time Bellingham's header failed to beat Alvarez on the stroke of half-time, England looked bereft of ideas and the fans were beginning to grumble. Kane eased the mounting pressure when the Bayern Munich striker made the breakthrough five minutes after the interval. After Kane's initial shot was saved, Madueke alertly guided a low cross back into the six-yard box for the England captain to tap into the empty net. It was a modest way to reach a milestone for Kane, who has a remarkable 450 career goals for club and country in 697 games. England still couldn't find any momentum and were nearly punished in the closing stages when Guillaume Lopez's shot was blocked by Ezri Konsa. – © AFP 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store