A Very Brief History of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup
Following the dramatic conclusion to the 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I thought this might be a good time to answer the question that no one asked: where was Ireland? *
*Note that in this blog post I am focusing on the Republic of Ireland men’s national football team. I use the term Ireland throughout the post to refer either to the whole island or as a shorthand for the Republic of Ireland.
Contents
- The Early Days: 1882-1950
- Close but No Cigar: 1954-1986
- The Debut: 1990
- The Encore: 1994
- A Change of Guard: 1998
- The Return: 2002
- Recent Years: 2006-2022
- The Future: 2023, 2026 and Beyond
The Early Days: 1882-1950
The IFA and the FAI
Football was adopted quite early on in Ireland given its proximity to and association with England. From 1882 to 1924, football for the whole island was governed by the Irish Football Association (IFA), with the headquarters in Belfast.
In 1921, the governing body for football in the Republic or Ireland, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), was formed in Dublin following a split from the pre-existing IFA. The FAI was admitted into FIFA in 1923 as the Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS). The FAI name was later readopted in 1936 in anticipation of the Irish constitution. This split led to a period of two Irish national teams, with both the Belfast-based IFA and the Dublin-based FAI regularly selecting players from the whole island.
Uruguay 1930
European participation to the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 was quite limited given the length of and cost of the journey to Uruguay at the time. Only Belgium, France, Romania and Yugoslavia made the trip.
Italy 1934 and France 1938
The Irish Free State failed to qualify for the 1934 World Cup in Italy and the 1938 World Cup in France. Football was unsurprisingly put on hold during the Second World War, with the 1942 and 1946 World Cups being cancelled.
Brazil 1950
In the build up to the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, two teams called Ireland, one being organised by the IFA and another by the FAI, took part in the qualification rounds. While neither team managed to qualify for the World Cup, FIFA ruled that going forward the IFA would be restricted to selecting players from Northern Ireland and the FAI to players from the republic.
Close but No Cigar: 1954-1986
The Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for any of the World Cups held between 1954 and 1986. They did come close for the 1966 in England, where they narrowly lost a play-off match to Spain.
Northern Ireland
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland did manage to qualify for three World Cups in that period: 1958 in Sweden, 1982 in Spain and 1986 in Mexico. Ironically, George Best, arguably Northern Ireland’s greatest player, never made it to a World Cup. Northern Ireland has not qualified for the World Cup since 1986, but did perform quite well at the UEFA European Championship held in France in 2016.
The Debut: 1990
The Group Stage
The wait was finally over on the 11th of June 1990 when the Republic of Ireland played its first ever match at the World Cup in Italy. As fate would have it, their first opponents were none other than England. This was somewhat ironic, as Ireland had managed to qualify with an English manager, Jack Charlton, and several English-born players of Irish descent, such as Paul McGrath and John Aldridge. The match was played at the Stadio Sant’Elia in Cagliari on the island of Sardinia. Things appeared to be heading for a predictable conclusion when English forward Gary Lineker scored early on, but in the 73rd minute Welsh-born Kevin Sheedy would enter the history books as the Republic or Ireland’s first ever World Cup goal scorer, earning a draw that was celebrated as a victory by a sea of green.
We’re all part of Jackie’s Army, We’re all off to Italy, And we’ll really shake them up, When we win The World Cup, ‘Cause Ireland are the greatest football team
Ireland went on to earn a 0-0 draw against Egypt and another 1-1 draw against then reigning European champions, the Netherlands. It was the Dublin giant Niall Quinn who provided the equaliser against the Dutch. Ireland finished second in group F, advancing to the knockout stage of the World Cup in their first ever appearance.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🏴 England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 |
Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪 0-0 (a.e.t.) 🇷🇴 Romania
Ireland win 5-4 on penalties
Ireland’s round of 16 opponents were Romania, featuring the sublime Gheorghe Hagi. The game finished 0-0 and went to penalties. Kevin Sheedy, Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend, Tony Cascarino and David O’Leary put all five of Ireland’s penalties away, but it was Donegal’s own Packie Bonner who would become a national hero when he stopped Daniel Timofte’s spot kick and sent Ireland to the quarter-finals.
Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪 0-1 🇮🇹 Italy
Against all odds, newcomers Ireland had made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The fairytale would sadly come to an end as Ireland faced hosts Italy in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. Ireland lost the game by a single goal from Salvatore Schillaci, making him rather unpopular in Ireland at the time.
Once the tears had dried and the nerves had calmed, everyone could look back and appreciate the thrilling performance that The Boys in Green had pulled off in Italia 90, which has yet to be surpassed.
The Encore: 1994
The Group Stage
The Republic of Ireland, high off of their impressive performance in 1990, were back for the 1994 World Cup in the United States of America. Being champions of irony, their first game of the group stage would be against the very team that put them out four years prior, Italy. To the surprise of many, Ireland went on to win the game 0-1, with Ray Houghton scoring the only goal of the game. One can only imagine that this put a smile on a few faces 😉. This was also technically The Republic of Ireland’s first ever World Cup win.
In the remaining group E games, Ireland lost 2-1 to Mexico and managed a 0-0 draw with Norway. This was enough, however, for a second place finish and Ireland advanced to the knockout stage.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Netherlands 🇳🇱 2-0 🇮🇪 Republic of Ireland
Sadly Ireland’s second appearance at the World Cup was to be shorter lived than their first. In the round of 16 the Netherlands comfortably beat them 2-0 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. This was Jack Charlton’s last game as manager of the Republic of Ireland.
A Change of Guard: 1998
In 1996, Jack Charlton was replaced by another English manager, Mick McCarthy. Under McCarthy Ireland managed to finish second in their qualification group for the 1998 World Cup in France, but lost 2-3 on aggregate to Belgium in the play-offs.
Anyone that uses the word ‘quintessentially’ in a half-time talk is talking crap. - Mick McCarthy
The Return: 2002
The Group Stage
The Republic of Ireland were back for their third (and final to date) World Cup appearance at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Mick McCarthy lead a new generation of Boys in Green with the likes of Matt Holland, Damien Duff and Irish goalscoring record holder Robbie Keane.
Ireland managed to grind out two 1-1 draws in group E against Cameroon and Germany. The game against Germany was particularly hard-fought with Robbie Keane scoring the equaliser against in the 92nd minute. Ireland then went on to their biggest ever World Cup win beating Saudi Arabia 0-3, with goals from Robbie Keane, Gary Breen and Damien Duff. Ireland finished second once again and progressed to the knockout stage with their highest ever points tally.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
Spain 🇪🇸 1-1 (a.e.t.) 🇮🇪 Republic of Ireland
Spain win 3-2 on penalties
Ireland’s last game at the World Cup to date was their round of 16 match against Spain. Spain took an early lead with a goal by Fernando Morientes, but Ireland managed to hold on and won a penalty that Robbie Keane scored in the 90th minute. Ireland again survived the extra time and made it to a penalty shoot out. In contrast to 1990, Ireland only managed to score two out of their five penalty kicks, with both Robbie Keane and Steve Finnan scoring. It was Gaizka Mendieta who sealed Ireland’s fate scoring Spain’s final kick and knocking Ireland out of the World Cup.
Recent Years: 2006-2022
Sadly, the Republic of Ireland has failed to qualify for any World Cup held since 2002.
La Main de Dieu
The closest they came to qualifying was in the build up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they finished second in their group. Ireland then faced France in the play-offs. They lost the first match in Dublin 0-1, but were winning 1-0 in the follow up match at the Stade de France when a very controversial goal was given that many would argue should have been disallowed. Thierry Henry appeared to very clearly and very deliberately control the ball with his hand before making the crucial cross that allowed teammate William Gallas to score and prevent Ireland from making their fourth appearance at the World Cup.
Danish Dynamite
Ireland also made it to the play-offs in the build up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, however they were rather comfortably beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Denmark.
The Future: 2023, 2026 and Beyond
Come on You Girls in Green
The next FIFA Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2023. This will mark the first appearance of the Republic of Ireland at the Women’s World Cup. The Girls in Green will join hosts Australia, along with Canada and Nigeria in group B. The tournament kicks off in July next year and hopefully they will make as big of an impact at their first World Cup as the boys did back in 1990.
Ya Never Know
The next Men’s FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA. Fingers crossed we will see the Boys in Green on display once more! 🤞