‘We have the material to qualify,' insists Heimir Hallgrimsson ahead of World Cup bid
Ireland boss believes tournament experience of Séamus Coleman and Robbie Brady will be vital in campaign
The Ireland squad will descend on Dublin this Sunday ahead of their June friendly double-header, the latest stop on a road they hope will lead to a first World Cup in 24 years next summer.
But out of Heimir Hallgrimsson's 23-man squad, only one man has known the feeling of qualifying for, and featuring in, a major tournament. Next month will mark nine years since Ireland's last appearance at a major finals and Robbie Brady is the only current survivor from that Euro 2016 campaign. The 33-year-old will forever be associated with that magical night in Lille.
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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Chelsea 4 Benfica 1 (aet): Blues eventually reach Club World Cup quarters with extra-time blitz after TWO-HOUR delay
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And Chelsea had to fly straight back to their Miami HQ immediately afterwards. READ MORE CHELSEA NEWS Reece James' classy goal had Chelsea on the brink of reaching the quarter finals only for the weather to intervene and transform a tepid match into a remarkable experience. Strict safety rules mean the players must come off the pitch and fans must leave their seats if lighting occurs within a ten mile radius of the ground. That was at 5.54pm local time and the game did not resumed until 7.47pm. A hold up of one hour and 53 minutes. Chelsea even posted pictures of their players keeping their tired legs warm by riding exercise bikes and playing keepy-uppy in the dressing room while waiting for the skies to clear. Most read in Football Join SUN CLUB for the Chelsea Files every Tuesday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Stamford Bridge Violent storms are normal in these parts at this time of year which means the same fate awaits games at the real World Cup next summer when 48 countries will be spread across the US. It's one thing to delay Chelsea v Benfica. Quite another to call a halt to Brazil versus France. Why Chelsea could sign Garnacho | Transfers Exposed Club World Cup 2025 Guide SOME of the world's biggest clubs are in action at this summer's Club World Cup in the United States! Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Man City, and Inter Miami are among the 32 teams taking part in the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 13. The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane are showcasing their skills to packed crowds across the US. 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Vastly experienced Argentina winger Angel di Maria calmly slotted home from the spot, sending his shot straight down the middle while Blues' keeper Robert Sanchez dived to his left. 12 VAR gave Benfica a penalty for Malo Gusto's unlucky handball after the restart Credit: Reuters 12 Angel Di Maria made no mistake from the spot to send it the game to extra-time Credit: Getty 12 It had got so close for Chelsea too. They had controlled the first 86 minutes of the game with ease before the bizarre set of events kicked in. Marc Cucurella, Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer had all gone close to scoring but they ended up paying for the missed chances by leaving Benfica in with a chance to get back in the game. James curled in a classy free kick in the 65th minute to put Chelsea one up and they looked like seeing it out. Gusto only came on in the 80th minute. The Frenchman was also guilty of a string of errors in Chelsea's Conference League Final win last month and was taken off by Maresca at half time. Benfica were reduced to ten men in extra time when sub Gianluca Prestianni was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Levi Colwill. 12 Players were removed from the playing surface in the 86th minute 12 Marc Cucurella protested the decision to evacuate With the opposition a man down, Chelsea slowly piled on the pressure and won it in the 108th minute when Cole Palmer broke free. He fed Moises Caicedo whose shot was only partially saved. Sub Nkunku pounced on the rebound but even that was blocked by defender Otamendi before the Frenchman got back on his feet and smashed home at the second attempt. Winger Pedro Neto made it 3-1 in the 114th minute and Kiernan-Dewsbury Hall added a fourth with four minutes left. Chelsea are edging closer to a last four all-Premier League meeting with Manchester City in the semi finals - in New York. 12 Christopher Nkunku scored Chelsea's crucial second goal in extra-time Credit: Getty 12 Pedro Neto made it safe with Chelsea's third against 10-man Benfica Credit: Getty 12 And Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put the cherry on top with another extra-time strike Credit: Getty
The Irish Sun
8 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Jack Grealish happy to play transfer waiting game as Man City outcast in limbo with clubs scared off by huge wages
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Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Lee Carsley leads England to defence of Euro U21 crown
European U21 Championship final: England 3 Germany 2 (AET) Whatever Lee Carsley goes on to achieve in his managerial career, this will be very hard to beat. With England's Under-21s having been pegged back by Germany after racing into a 2-0 lead after goals for Harvey Elliott and Omari Hutchinson, those of a negative disposition were probably thinking back to the 1970 World Cup when Sir Alf Ramsey's reigning champions were eliminated after extra time in the same scenario. But with Thomas Tuchel watching on from the stands after dashing across the Atlantic to be here, Carsley – who wasn't even born back then – clearly had no such thoughts. Instead, he boldly decided to gamble by taking off Elliott and the captain James McAtee and was rewarded by substitute Jonathan Rowe scoring with almost his first touch. It means that England have followed in the footsteps of Dave Sexton's sides more than 40 years ago by winning successive European titles and their fourth in total. On this evidence, the future looks very bright indeed. The England manager was calmness personified before kick-off as he cracked jokes with his assistant Ashley Cole and he had the luxury of being able to name an unchanged side from the semi-final victory over the Netherlands. The momentum gained after a much-improved performance in the second half of their final group stage game against a weakened Germany team helped propel an inexperienced group of players past pre-tournament favourites Spain in the last eight. But with their opponents at full strength this time, the threat posed by 6ft 6in striker Nick Woltemade, who began the game as the tournament's top scorer with six goals in only four appearances, seemed obvious. Such was the interest in this game that Tuchel had flown more than 5,000 miles from the Club World Cup in the United States to be in attendance, while the Germany manager, Julian Nagelsmann cut short his holiday in Majorca. There was no sign of any nerves as England were quick to find their rhythm. Elliott started the move down the right flank that ended up with Hutchinson forcing Noah Atubolu into a save. But Nnamdi Collins made a hash of the clearance and the Liverpool forward was able to steady himself before picking his spot with great precision to score his fifth of the competition. Charlie Cresswell – who is the other remaining member from 2023 – was inches away from doubling the lead when James McAtee fired across the face of goal. Then it was Jay Stansfield's turn following another lightning break from Elliott but the Birmingham striker decided against throwing himself at another McAtee pass with the goal gaping. The Manchester City midfielder finally registered an assist when Germany were caught out again on the break and Hutchinson finished with aplomb, celebrating with an acrobatic flip. The usually understated Carsley could barely contain his delight on the touchline. A flowing move began by the outstanding Elliot Anderson's clever backheel almost resulted in a brilliant team goal but Stansfield could only drag his shot wide. With Woltemade having to drop increasingly deeper, Germany seemed to have no answer. Even when goalkeeper James Beadle almost gifted them a goal when he briefly lost possession, England were still able to go straight up the other end and create another chance with McAtee's shot saved by Atubolu. But the loss of the limping Alex Scott, replaced by Liverpool's Tyler Morton just before half-time, was a blow and that was compounded when Nelson Weiper pulled one back by heading home Paul Nebel's cross in injury time. England did not seem to be ruffled by conceding. McAtee was unlucky to see his effort drift just wide after a magnificent dummy left his marker for dead at the start of the second half. But Germany looked so much more threatening when they made it into the final third and Beadle did well not to parry Nebel's cross into the path of the waiting Woltemade, who is set to join Bayern Munich after this tournament. There was to be no such reprieve when Nebel – who qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland through his grandmother – saw his curling shot deflect off Stansfield and loop over Beadle's despairing dive to equalise. Carsley immediately sacrificed Stansfield for Brooke Norton-Cuffy, with Elliott brought into a more central role. Suddenly the game was on a knife edge as Norton-Cuffy could only direct his shot straight at Atubolu after being set up by Hutchinson. There were hearts in mouths on the England bench when Germany struck the crossbar in injury time but they made it to extra time. Carsley rolled the dice by taking off the exhausted McAtee and Elliott and it immediately paid dividends as Rowe's deft header from Morton's cross restored England's lead. 'We have to dig in,' said Carsley as he gathered his players together in a huddle at the change of ends. 'This is our time now.' He could not contain his delight at the full time whistle after another late scare when Germany hit the bar again. But Carsley and England would not be denied their place in the history books. Guardian
