1920s–1980s Between 1882 and 1924, Ireland was represented by
a single national football team organised by the
Belfast-based
Irish Football Association (IFA). In 1920, Ireland
was partitioned into
Northern Ireland and the
Irish Free State. The
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 football in the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State made their international debut at the
1924 Summer Olympics. 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, they qualified for the quarter-finals where they lost to the
Netherlands. 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 Summer Olympics.
Ed Brookes scored a
hat-trick in a 3–1 home win at
Dalymount Park. The Irish Free State did not play their next game until 21 March 1926, an away game against
Italy 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
FIFA World Cup debut, drawing 4–4 with
Belgium at Dalymount Park in a
1934 FIFA World Cup 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. After 1936, they reverted to the designation
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and began to refer to their team as
Éire or "Ireland". During this entire 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 entire island. At least 38
dual internationals were selected to represent both teams, 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. 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. FIFA eventually intervened when both teams entered
1950 World Cup qualification, the first time they had entered the same competition. Four players –
Tom Aherne,
Reg Ryan,
Davy Walsh,
Con Martin – actually played for the two different teams in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. 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 the eligibility of players 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 FIFA World Cup and subsequently the European Nations Cup (now the UEFA European Football Championship). FIFA decreed that the FAI team officially be called the
Republic of Ireland while the IFA team was to be named
Northern Ireland. against
Sweden in May 1960 – players of the team from left to right, standing;
Seamus Dunne,
Noel Dwyer,
Charlie Hurley. Michael McGrath,
Pat Saward; crouched:
Joe Haverty,
George Cummins,
Dermot Curtis,
Ronnie Nolan,
Ambrose "Amby" Fogarty and
Fionan "Paddy" Fagan. 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.
Eamon Dunphy made his Ireland debut in this game. The FAI was criticised for this move to boost revenue from gate receipts. His two years in charge were marked by exceptionally poor results, however with the team losing five out of six matches and gaining just one point in their
1970 World Cup qualification, and doing no better in the
UEFA Euro 1972 qualifiers, leading to his dismissal. His replacement,
Liam Tuohy, did a somewhat better in the
1974 qualification, and more importantly, oversaw major improvements to the national team's training facilities and persuaded many English club sides to end their policies of not releasing Irish players for international games during the domestic season. Ultimately, however, the team still failed to qualify for the World Cup, and Tuohy resigned following a dispute over his wages.
Johnny Giles became the side's 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 two points, having defeated
France at home during
qualification. After a less than impressive performance at
Euro 1980 qualifying, in which the team finished well behind group winners England and Northern Ireland,
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, whom they had defeated at home once more. Disappointing qualifying campaigns for both Euro 1984 and the
1986 World Cup followed, ending Hand's time in charge.
1986–1995: Success under Jack Charlton In 1986, the Republic of Ireland appointed
Jack Charlton, a top rated English manager who had been part of England's World Cup-winning side of
1966. During the 1970s, he had developed
Middlesbrough into a side which provided many players to the dominant
Liverpool team of the time. at the
Citrus Bowl in
Orlando, Florida, where they were eliminated from the 1994 FIFA World Cup after losing 2-0 After taking charge of the Republic of Ireland, Charlton influenced changes in the national side which resulted in the most successful period of its history, qualifying for two World Cups and a European Championship. Prominent players in this period included
Paul McGrath,
Packie Bonner,
Niall Quinn, and the Liverpool trio of
Ray Houghton,
John Aldridge and
Ronnie Whelan. Ireland's first appearance at a major finals tournament came in
Euro 1988. With Ireland's fixtures already complete, qualification was secured through
Gary Mackay's 87th-minute goal in
Sofia when Scotland beat Bulgaria 1–0; the Scottish win left Ireland top of
the group. In spite of the enforced absence of
Liam Brady and
Mark Lawrenson from their squad, in the finals in
West Germany, Ireland shocked Europe by beating England 1–0 in
Stuttgart with a header from
Ray Houghton in their competitive debut; drew 1–1 with the
Soviet Union in
Hannover, with
Ronnie Whelan the scorer; and lost to eventual champions the
Netherlands 1–0 in
Gelsenkirchen, coming within seven 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 World Cup qualifying campaign. Five games against Spain, Northern Ireland,
Hungary, and
Malta twice, were all wins. Subsequently, the side made it to the
1990 World Cup in Italy. Three draws in the group stage against England,
Egypt and the Netherlands were enough to make the knockout stage. Virtually the entire 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 was then beaten 1–0 by hosts Italy in the quarter-final at the
Stadio Olimpico in
Rome. During the tournament, the team had an audience with
Pope John Paul II, the only team to do so. After missing out on
Euro 1992 (despite being unbeaten in qualifying), the Republic of Ireland qualified for the
1994 World Cup, held in the United States, via a
qualification group which again included Spain and Northern Ireland, In their first match at the 1994 finals, they beat the previous World Cup hosts and third-place finishers, Italy, 1–0 in their opening game at
Giants Stadium just outside New York City, but lost to Mexico 2–1 at the
Citrus Bowl in the heat and humidity of
Orlando, Florida. They ended the group stage with a 0–0 draw with
Norway at
Giants Stadium, in
East Rutherford, New Jersey. With these results, they made it to the second round, eventually losing 2–0 to the Netherlands in Orlando. Ireland finished second behind
Portugal in
Euro 1996 qualifying's Group 6, but narrowly missed out on the
Euro 1996 finals after losing 2–0 to the Netherlands in the
qualifying play-off.
Anfield in
Liverpool was chosen as the neutral venue for the match between the two worst-ranked group runners-up, with
Patrick Kluivert scoring both goals to send his team through. Ireland's opponents in
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Group 8 were
Yugoslavia,
Croatia, Malta and
North Macedonia (then known as FYRO Macedonia (see
Macedonia naming dispute)). Ireland took on both Portugal and the Netherlands in
2002 World Cup qualifiers in UEFA's Group 2, ending the group in second place with 24 points from 10 matches (seven victories and three draws). 1–1 draws with
Cameroon and Germany were followed by a 3–0 victory over
Saudi Arabia in
Group E. The Irish once again progressed to the knockout stage, only losing narrowly 3–2 on penalties to Spain in
Suwon after Robbie Keane's last minute equalising penalty kick forced the game into extra time. After a poor start to qualifying for
Euro 2004, McCarthy was replaced by
Brian Kerr, but he too struggled to guide the side to the tournament or the subsequent
2006 World Cup in Germany, and was ultimately sacked in October 2005. Kerr was replaced by
Steve Staunton (assisted by
Bobby Robson in the position of "international football consultant") in January 2006. Under Staunton, results varied widely but the team still failed to qualify for
Euro 2008 and Staunton lost the position in October 2007. His reign included a humiliating 5–2 defeat to
Cyprus during the
qualifiers' Group D, one of the worst defeats in the team's history.
2008–2019: Trapattoni, O'Neill, and McCarthy's return Giovanni Trapattoni was appointed manager in February 2008 following a spell with assistant coach
Don Givens in charge. Trapattoni went through all ten first round
2010 World Cup qualifying games unbeaten, winning four of the ten games. Ireland lost out on a place in the
finals, however, after a controversial, narrow loss to France in the play-offs. Ireland went down 1–0 in the first leg, and
lost 2–1 on aggregate, with
William Gallas scoring a controversial goal in extra time in the second leg after
Thierry Henry had handled the ball before crossing for Gallas to score. This followed another controversy over FIFA's last-minute decision to
seed the play-off draw. In 2011, Ireland hosted and won the inaugural
Nations Cup with wins against Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland without conceding a goal. In their
Euro 2012 qualifying group, Ireland finished second, losing only the home fixture against
Russia. They thus reached the play-offs and were drawn against
Estonia, whom they beat
5–1 on aggregate.
Euro 2012 was Ireland's first major tournament since 2002, but in
Group C they lost all three matches, against Croatia, Spain, and Italy.
UEFA, however, announced a special award for the fans of the Irish team, who notably sang in the last few minutes against Spain, despite trailing 4–0. Ireland was drawn in
Group C of UEFA's 2014 World Cup qualification alongside Germany,
Sweden,
Austria, the
Faroe Islands and
Kazakhstan. On 12 October, Ireland suffered their largest ever competitive home defeat, 6–1 against Germany, at the
Aviva Stadium. Ireland then lost against Sweden and Austria in early September 2013, effectively ending the qualification campaign, and Giovanni Trapattoni resigned as team manager the following day.
Noel King was appointed interim senior manager on 23 September 2013 following his resignation. On 5 November 2013, the FAI announced that
Martin O'Neill would be Trapattoni's replacement as manager, with former team captain
Roy Keane as his assistant. They assumed their roles when the team met on 11 November where they won against
Latvia 3–0 and drew against
Poland 0–0. For the
Euro 2016 qualification phase, the Republic of Ireland was drawn in
Group D against
Georgia, Germany,
Gibraltar, Poland and Scotland. The team played against Gibraltar for the first time, beating them 7–0, and achieved an away draw against World Cup champions, Germany, a few days later in October 2014. On 8 October 2015, the Republic of Ireland beat world champions Germany 1–0 in a Euro 2016 qualifier at the Aviva Stadium.
Shane Long scored the game's only goal with an excellent finish in the 70th minute, rewarding the Republic of Ireland's impressive defensive display. The result, hailed as one of the Republic of Ireland's greatest, guaranteed the Republic of Ireland a play-off place at least, with hopes of automatic qualification still a reality going into the final group game against Poland in
Warsaw. A win, or a draw of 2–2 or more, for the
finals in France. The Republic of Ireland, however, lost 2–1, thus entering them into the play-offs. The draw for the Euro 2016 Play-off was held in
Nyon, Switzerland, on 18 October 2015. Ireland were unseeded in the draw, meaning they could face one of
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Ukraine, Sweden or Hungary. Ireland were drawn against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the top seeded team in the play-off. The only previous meeting between the teams resulted in a 1–0 win for the Republic of Ireland in a friendly in 2012, Shane Long scoring the game's only goal. Owing to injuries and suspensions, Ireland had only the "B" squad available for the first leg of the play-off, played in
Bilino Polje Stadium. A goal from
Robbie Brady almost secured a victory for the Irish until
Edin Džeko equalised 1–1 to end off the match. In the second leg played at the Aviva Stadium,
Jonathan Walters scored two goals leading to a 2–0 victory for the Irish. In the end, Ireland won the play-off 3–1 on
aggregate, qualifying them for Euro 2016. At the tournament's final stages in France, Ireland were drawn into Group E against Italy, Belgium and Sweden. In their opener at the
Stade de France in
Saint-Denis, Paris,
Wes Hoolahan scored the opener with a spectacular half-volley off a
Séamus Coleman cross, but Sweden equalised after
Ciaran Clark headed into his own net attempting to clear a cross from
Zlatan Ibrahimović, leading to a 1–1 draw. At the
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux against Belgium, the Belgians cruised to a 3–0 victory after two goals from
Romelu Lukaku and one from
Axel Witsel, leaving Ireland needing to win their final match against already qualified Italy to qualify for the knockout stage. Against Italy at the
Stade Pierre-Mauroy in
Villeneuve-d'Ascq,
Lille, Ireland played strongly but were five minutes plus stoppage time away from elimination when
Robbie Brady headed in Hoolahan's cross. The Republic held on to win 1–0, sending Ireland through as one of the four best third-place teams. On 26 June, Ireland played
France in the
round of 16 in
Lyon. Ireland took the lead in the match with an early penalty from Robbie Brady, but France went on to win 2–1 to advance to the quarter-finals. The
2018 World Cup qualification draw took place on 25 July 2015 when the team were drawn in
Group D against Austria, Georgia,
Moldova,
Serbia and Wales. Ireland started qualifying strongly with a hard-fought 2–2 draw away to Serbia preceding two impressive victories over Georgia and Moldova. On 12 November 2016, Ireland beat Austria in
Vienna to go top of the 2018 World Cup qualifying group. However, a run of three draws against Wales, Austria and Georgia followed by a devastating 1–0 loss at home to Serbia looked to have diminished any chances of the Republic of Ireland qualifying for the
2018 World Cup. The Republic of Ireland were soon back on form however after securing a 2–0 victory at home to Moldova thanks to a brace from Daryl Murphy. On 9 October 2017, Ireland defeated
Wales 1–0 in
Cardiff to qualify for the
qualification play-offs after a James McClean goal fired Ireland to second place in the group. They went on to play
Denmark in the play-offs. In the first leg of the play-offs on 11 November, Ireland drew 0–0 against Denmark in
Copenhagen. In the second leg on 14 November in
Dublin, Ireland lost 5–1 to Denmark after taking the lead in the game. Shane Duffy's early header looked to have given the Republic of Ireland hope in qualifying for their first World Cup since 2002, however, an
Andreas Christensen goal, a
Christian Eriksen hat-trick and a late
Nicklas Bendtner penalty shattered Irish dreams. Ireland competed in the first
UEFA Nations League from September to November in 2018 and went on to finish bottom of their
group, picking up just two points in two 0–0 draws against
Denmark and were relegated to
League C for the
2020–21 UEFA Nations League. On 21 November 2018, Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane left their posts with the Ireland senior team following a run of poor results. The FAI confirmed on the weekend of 23 November 2018,
Mick McCarthy's appointment as the Republic of Ireland manager after the 59-year-old agreed to return to the role following a meeting with chief executive
John Delaney. McCarthy appointed
Terry Connor as his assistant, who he had worked with at
Wolverhampton Wanderers and
Ipswich Town respectively. Ireland's record goalscorer
Robbie Keane was announced as a member of the backroom team. He started poorly with an unconvincing 1–0 win over Gibraltar after having previously beaten them 7–0 and 4–0 in the past. However, a good performance against Georgia saw another 1–0 win thanks to a
Conor Hourihane free kick. The wins left them top of the
group, a position they still held three matches later in mid-September 2019, with just three matches remaining. Ireland failed to automatically qualify and were placed into a semi-final play-off against
Slovakia.
2020–2023: Stephen Kenny era On 4 April 2020, amid the
global COVID-19 pandemic, McCarthy stood down as manager and was immediately replaced by
Stephen Kenny. On 3 September 2020, Ireland drew 1–1 away to
Bulgaria in Kenny's first match as manager. The following month, Ireland played its postponed
Euro 2020 semi-final play-off match against Slovakia. The match finished 0–0 after extra time and a 4–2 penalty shootout defeat saw Slovakia progress to the play-off final. In March 2021, Ireland played two
2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; losing 3–2 away to
Serbia before losing at home 1–0 to
Luxembourg. Ireland would ultimately fail to qualify for the World Cup as they ended the campaign with a third-place finish in their group. On 8 June 2021,
Chiedozie Ogbene became the first African-born player to represent the Republic of Ireland, when he made his debut in a 0–0 draw away to
Hungary. In the
UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying, Ireland was placed in
Group B. After recording only two wins against
Gibraltar, Ireland finished the group in fourth place behind
France, the
Netherlands and
Greece, failing to qualify for the fourth tournament in a row. In October 2023, the Republic of Ireland was confirmed as co-host of
UEFA Euro 2028 alongside
England,
Scotland,
Wales and
Northern Ireland. However, due to the unusually high number of involved associations in the bid, Ireland was not granted automatic qualification to the tournament. Instead, all teams will participate in
qualifying, with two spots allocated to the best performing hosts which are unable to qualify on merit. Ireland will host games at
Aviva Stadium.
2023–present Stephen Kenny's contract was due to expire at the end of 2023, with the manager himself admitting after a friendly against
New Zealand that while he would like to continue in the position, his "instinct [was] that’s not going to happen." The match was eventually confirmed to be his last, as the FAI announced on 22 November 2023 that Kenny's contract would not be renewed. While Kenny recorded only six wins in 29 competitive matches during his tenure and is widely considered as one of Ireland's worst managers in modern history, he was also credited with introducing younger players to the squad. In the
2024–25 UEFA Nations League B, Ireland was drawn in Group 2 along with
England,
Finland and
Greece. On 10 July 2024, the
Football Association of Ireland announced
Heimir Hallgrímsson as the new coach of the Republic of Ireland national football team. In September 2025, the Republic of Ireland opened their
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a 2-2 draw at home to
Hungary before losing 2-1 away to
Armenia who were 105th in the
FIFA World Rankings. On 13 November 2025, Ireland defeated
Portugal 2-0 with both goals coming from
Troy Parrott to remain in contention of qualifying for the World Cup. Three days later, in Irelands final group game in which they had to win, Parrott scored a hat-trick, including a 96th-minute winner, in a 3–2 win away to
Hungary, securing Ireland's place in the
2026 FIFA World Cup play-offs. He became the first ever Republic of Ireland player to score a
hat-trick in an away game and the first Irish player to score a competitive hat-trick since
Robbie Keane in 2014. On 26 March 2026, the Republic of Ireland lost 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw against
Czechia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification play-of semi-final. ==Team image==