logo
Luxembourg v Ireland player ratings: very few shine in end of season friendly

Luxembourg v Ireland player ratings: very few shine in end of season friendly

Ireland go into the World Cup qualifiers on a sour note after a drab 0-0 draw against Luxembourg.
In a game that very much had the signs of an end of season friendly, it was the hosts that had the better of the chances.
Max O'Leary made his debut six years after his first call up and was made to work.
Here are the player ratings.
Max O'Leary 8
Brilliant 29th minute save by debutant followed by vital foot block in second half.
Jake O'Brien 7
Was engaged all evening in a really physical tussle with Dardari.
Dara O'Shea 6
Kept in the side ahead of Liam Scales. Headed assist for Collins and Idah chances.
Nathan Collins 8
Closest Ireland player to scoring with header off post. Very strong on Rodriguez.
Robbie Brady 6
Only lasted 20 minutes after suffering an injury. Replaced by Ryan Manning.
Jason Knight 6
Deflection off his heel denied home skipper Jans but was ineffective otherwise.
Will Smallbone 5
Impact limited to set-piece delivery for Collins chance. Lacked energy and invention.
Killian Phillips 5
Plenty of industry as expected but was exposed at times on full debut.
Kasey McAteer 6
Botched two great second half chances. Saved Ireland in 3 on 1 overlap.
Troy Parrott 6
Great 66th minute finish but clearly offside. Target of some really rough stuff.
Evan Ferguson 5
Hugely frustrating night. Loose when dropped deep; misplaced pass almost proved costly
Ireland subs
Ryan Manning 7
Jack Taylor 7
Festy Ebosele 7
Adam Idah 6
Matt Doherty 7
John Patrick Finn 6
Luxembourg: Pereira Cardosa 7; Dzogovic 6, Jans 7 (Thill 6), Korac 6, Carlson 6, Bohnert 6 (Pinto 6); De Sousa 6, Barreiro 6, Sinani 8; Rodrigues 5 (Veiga 6), Dardari 7 (Curci 6).
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

David Clifford the Player of the Year as Kerry dominate Team of the Year selection
David Clifford the Player of the Year as Kerry dominate Team of the Year selection

RTÉ News​

time9 minutes ago

  • RTÉ News​

David Clifford the Player of the Year as Kerry dominate Team of the Year selection

And, after so much change to the game of Gaelic football, Kerry are the champions for the second time in four seasons, and a record extending 39th time overall. Since the end of the dominant Dublin period, the men from the Kingdom have won two All-Irelands - that's one more than anybody else. You could tell something was brewing when they ripped last year's All-Ireland champions Armagh to shreds in a dominant 15 minute period at the quarter-final stage, after emerging from the long grass of another Munster title and a surprise defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland group stages. Then, in the semis, they upped the ante after the break to make a break for the decider, but it was their performance today which was arguably the most impressive of the lot. Jack O'Connor had spoken of his desire for, "a good, steady, even performance" but this was so much more than that. They were well on top from the first minute, with Dylan Geaney opening the scoring inside 15 seconds. David Clifford contributed seven points in the first half, including three two-pointers. Donegal threatened to put up a comeback when they cut the gap to four but the Munster men had the answers with the late goal from Joe O'Connor meaning they ended up winning both halves - worthy winners. Kerry top the list with eight players, with beaten finallists Donegal managing four - Meath, Tyrone and Armagh complete the 15, with no player from Connacht making the cut in a year when the province failed to provide an All-Ireland semi-finalist. Shane Ryan (Kerry) An excellent distributor of the ball who has an ability to get the ball away with some haste, which helped Kerry with some big scores over the summer. A superb shot stopper as well, he never conceded a goal across the entire run to the Sam Maguire. Managed 0-04 points during the summer although ended the All-Ireland final with a score, missing a few frees. Seán Rafferty (Meath) Only made his championship debut for Meath against Carlow in April this year but was a solid presence throughout their campaign. Often took the tough marking job on David Clifford, Shane Walsh and Michael Murphy. He was off the field when Meath conceded 2-03 against Galway. Jason Foley (Kerry) A tall, strong full back with bags of pace. Started every championship game on Kerry's run to the Sam Maguire. Kept Michael Murphy to two points from play in this afternoon's final. Brendan McCole (Donegal) The New York born defender was Donegal's main man marker during the year, doing a particularly impressive jobs on Derry's Shane McGuigan and on Jordan Morris in the semi-final victory over Meath. As most mortals do, found David Clifford too hot to handle in the decider but overall, a very impressive year for the 27-year-old. Brian Ó Beaglaoich (Kerry) A brilliant defender but so dangerous going forward with the pace that he has. A standout player in a line that launches so much of Kerry's most important moves. Gavin White (Kerry) His tenth season with the Kingdom, and his third as captain, but this one surely tops the lot as he got to climb the steps of the Hogan Stand on All-Ireland final day after disappointment in 2019 and last year. An inspirational All-Ireland final performance as he scored 0-03 and set up other scores throughout the game as an attacking wing-back. Kieran McGeary (Tyrone) Tyrone's sole representative in the selection, Kieran McGeary showed his ability with an early two-pointer as Tyrone saw off Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Joe O'Connor (Kerry) Not long after Kerry's last All-Ireland in 2022, O'Connor did his ACL playing a club game for Austin Stacks and he was off the field for 15 months. Since his return at the start of 2024, he's started all 15 of Kerry's Championship games and all but two of their league games in that period. It's an incredible record but reflects the form he has managed in midfield. Showed his ability to win the ball and carry it early in today's final and was a consistent thorn in Donegal's side with his incisive runs. Capped it all off with the last score of the day, a goal into the Hill 16 End. Michael Langan (Donegal) The super experienced midfielder made his Donegal debut in 2017. He's a majestic fielder of the ball and covers plenty of ground in the middle third of the field. Nominated for an All-Star last year and continued where he left off with some big performances this year. His goal against Monaghan helped the Tír Chonaill men turned around a seven-point half-time deficit. Seán O'Shea (Kerry) Kicked 12 points against from nine shots against Armagh when the Orchard decided to go after David Clifford. Such a consistent play maker in the Kerry team. Managed a point from play in the final as well as kicking two two-pointers from place balls. Paudie Clifford (Kerry) Injury kept Clifford out of the team until later in the year but he emerged at half-time in the quarter-final dethroning of Armagh, hitting two points. Started the semi final win over Tyrone and hit another two points before managing three this afternoon. An orchestrator of a lot of what Kerry do well. Oisín Conaty (Armagh) The only player included who didn't play for a team that won anything this year. It should tell you something about how impressive the Armagh attacker was as their All-Ireland defence fell short. A very talented soccer player in his younger years, he managed six points from play in the Ulster final loss to Donegal. David Clifford (Kerry) The greatest footballer of his generation and he delivered once again in the biggest game in the sport. Coming into today, the Fossa man had already hit 8-53 in his eight championship games. He added seven points in the first half, including three two-pointers, before another two from play down the home stretch. Clifford is the attacker of his generation (Galway and Dublin fans might have something to say), consistently tormenting opposition defences. When he fires, Kerry tend to win, and that was the case once in 2025. Michael Murphy (Donegal) Came back to win a second Celtic Cross but came up just short. One of just two players who has played in every Donegal v Kerry championship game, stretching back to a quarter-final win back in 2012. A talismanic figure looking to pull off one of the greatest comebacks having made himself available after two seasons out. Got special mention from the Uachtarán Jarlath Burns in his speech before handing over the Sam Maguire, calling him "the best player ever to come from" Donegal. Conor O'Donnell (Donegal) A dangerous attacker who was always worth a few scores for Donegal. He hit 1-03 in the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Meath and on a more difficult afternoon in the final, he was their top scorer from play with four points - two in each half. Gavin White (Kerry) A massive All-Ireland final performance from the very first minute, as he burst through and fed Geaney for the opening score, setting the tone for a golden afternoon for Kerry. He added a score himself shortly afterwards and would have three before the afternoon was out. Repeated his support role early in the second half to set up Seán O'Shea and he was consistent danger throughout with his powerful running. SUNDAY GAME FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR David Clifford (Kerry) What more can be said about the Fossa man? He ends the season with 8-62 from nine games as the greatest player of his generation continues to perform when its most needed. He hit seven in the first half this afternoon including a two-pointer after the buzzer which his manager picked out as a critical score in the game. Earlier in the campaign, he was heavily marked against Armagh but still ended up with seven points, and had his best scoring contribution of the year in the semi-final victory over Tyrone when he managed 1-09.

It's been ugly at times but the beauty about our Lionesses is this isn't the end — they are never done
It's been ugly at times but the beauty about our Lionesses is this isn't the end — they are never done

The Irish Sun

time9 minutes ago

  • The Irish Sun

It's been ugly at times but the beauty about our Lionesses is this isn't the end — they are never done

SCREAMS fill the air, tears flow and beer rains down to ecstatic chants of 'It's coming home' — and I couldn't be more proud. Our wonder women have done it again. 3 Our wonder women are Euros champions for the second time in a row Credit: Reuters 3 Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made heroic shootout saves Credit: AFP 3 Chloe Kelly fires England to victory in tense shootout Credit: EPA Euros Football is called 'the beautiful game' — but this tournament has, at times, been anything but that for our brave Lionesses. Even the most die-hard fans will, at some point, have thought: 'We're surely done now . . .' But we have kept bouncing back. Whether it was a last-minute equaliser, an extra-time winner or READ MORE ON EUROS VICTORY It's been a campaign of resilience, ugly at times, and we've had to fight. The Lionesses were the tournament's most passionate team and were rightly rewarded. Now they enter the history books as There are moments I'll never forget — such as the ­Sweden shootout when Most read in Football Now they have brought football home yet again and the beauty is, this isn't the end. Now we want to complete the set with the 2027 World Cup. That's the wonderful thing about our History-making Lionesses showed true English grit to win Euros and fully deserve the glory

Jack O'Connor says Kerry's future rests with one person, and no surprises who
Jack O'Connor says Kerry's future rests with one person, and no surprises who

Irish Daily Mirror

time38 minutes ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Jack O'Connor says Kerry's future rests with one person, and no surprises who

Kerry boss Jack O'Connor has joked that his wife will decide his future with the legendary manager hinting that he would step away from the role. O'Connor had previously alluded that 2025 would be his final year, regardless of how it ended, and did not little to quiet speculation when speaking to the media after Kerry's All-Ireland triumph. 'I think I was on record earlier in the year there that it would probably be my last hurrah, do you know. I don't want to be telling ye lads before I tell anyone else. There's a lot more people down the corridor. Look, we'll do that in due course. There's no hurry.' O'Connor was further quizzed on The Sunday Game by Joanne Cantwell and said he'll be leaving his decision to his better half. "That's up to my wife now, she's down there! All I know, Joanne, is I was going out the door with my gearbag Thursday night, and she had the camera out taking photographs, and that's not a great sign." In his third stint as Kerry manager, O'Connor won his fifth All-Ireland title and sits only behind Jim Gavin (6) and Mick O'Dwyer (8) when it comes to All-Ireland titles. "It's great. It's a fantastic night to be celebrating with the supporters and families," he said. "We've been on the other side of it where we've lost finals, it's night and day, it's agony and ecstasy, so thankfully it's ecstasy tonight. "It's great when things come together. Five or six weeks ago, we were on our knees after the defeat in Tullamore, so it's very rewarding when people stick together. It's easy to jump on the bandwagon when things are going well, but when things aren't going well, that's when you find out about people. We found that we had great unity in the camp and the whole group, and that was rewarded today."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store