Latest news with #Hallgrimsson
The Irish Sun
25-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Finn Azaz savours trip of a lifetime while hoping he'll have football equivalent with Ireland next summer
FINN AZAZ went for high altitude and Machu Picchu this summer as he aims to scale heights with Ireland next year. Middlesbrough midfielder Azaz, 24, was given this summer off by Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson so he is fresh for the new season. Advertisement 2 His emergence has come as a welcome help to Ireland's midfield issues 2 The spectacular view at Machu Picchu that greeted him and his friends Credit: Getty And Azaz undertook a trip of a lifetime with pals to South America, with the hope he has another one at the North American World Cup with Ireland next year. Azaz said: 'I went on a little travel with my friends. I went to Machu Picchu which was amazing. 'We like to get to places where most footballers probably wouldn't go. 'We actually went to Rio, Peru — Machu Picchu — and Colombia.' Advertisement Read More On Irish Football He travelled after speaking to Hallgrimsson who decided to give most of his players at Championship clubs the summer off. The English second tier ended at the start of May and Hallgrimsson departed from the norm by not asking many of those to play in June after a month of inactivity. But he told them it was so they were fresh for the start of the World Cup qualification camp in September and having no summer off next year. Azaz added: 'Not many managers would have considered that in terms of that kind of longer-term thinking which I appreciated. I had a few niggles as well. Advertisement Most read in Football 'I agreed the main focus had to be on September. 'It's going to be a huge six months but I'm ready for the challenge now.' Alex Iwobi tells SunSport about having Jay-Jay Okocha as uncle, who wins Premier League Royal Rumble and work of his charity Project 17
The 42
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
A Year of Heimir - What Ireland's boss has achieved, and what he has still to prove
AND SO ENDS the First Year of Heimir. Hallgrimsson will be more than 12 months in the job by the time Ireland next kick off in September, and so we look back at the achievements and the yet-to-dos of a 10-match reign that has thus far featured four wins, four defeats, and two draws. Successes Designing a structure Ireland have thus far betrayed a very clear indication as to what they have been doing on the training ground. Ireland have developed an obvious method of play depending on the level of the opposition, a necessary clarity in advance of a sprint through World Cup qualifying. Without possession, Ireland set up in a 4-4-2, but this switches to a 3-4-2-1 – a little like how Shamrock Rovers play – when they have the ball. The 5-0 hammering to England at Wembley is, of course, best forgotten, but the first half offered a vision of Ireland may choose to set up against group heavyweights Portugal. Nathan Collins was selected in central midfield and asked to choke central areas and force England wide, at which point he dropped into centre-back and pushed the Irish defence out wide, thereby putting pressure on the incipient English cross. It was all going so well, too, until Liam Scales was sent off and Ireland imploded. But with Cristiano Ronaldo – the best penalty-box player in the history of the sport – likely to await over qualifying, they have a blueprint to try and curb his influence. Time has been put to good use. Building depth Stephen Kenny completely overhauled the Irish squad and greatly broadened the player pool for Hallgrimsson, who has nonetheless sought to assess even more potential options. The manager has used 37 players in total across his 10 games thus far, and that doesn't include players who have been called up and have not played, including Shane Duffy, Josh Honohan, Mark Travers, Josh Keeley, and Bosun Lawal. Advertisement The consequence is Ireland have depth in most positions now, although that is partly a consequence of too many players not doing enough to separate themselves from their positional rivals. This is most obvious in central midfield, where Ireland have plenty of options, almost all of them easily interchangable. Ireland do, however, lack some depth at left-back, which is why Robbie Brady has emerged as such a crucial player. Ryan Manning is better further forward, Callum O'Dowda is injury-prone and at League One level, and Matt Doherty is an option but much more comfortable on the right flank. Given the lack of alternates to Brady, don't be shocked if James McClean yet makes an unlikely Irish comeback. Hallgrimsson has been frustrated at other attempts to build depth. A home-based training camp in January didn't happen as the FAI hadn't budgeted for it, while additional friendlies slated for May – which would feature Championship players and padded out by those the fringes of contention – fell apart when one of Ireland's two opponents withdrew. A less diplomatic manager may have publicly voiced his annoyance. Curbing counter-attacks Ireland have looked much more secure under Hallgrimsson when they turn the ball over, a regular area of weakness under Stephen Kenny. (If they were rarely cut open in the same way under previous managers, it was at least partly down to the fact they rarely attacked in such a way as to leave themselves open.) Hallgrimsson's team has thus far struck a better balance. He has spoken of the importance of 'rest defence', which is how Ireland are set up to defend opposition counters when they have the ball. The above formation usually keeps three centre-backs and two midfielders behind the ball in the event Ireland lose it, and thus gums up the middle of the pitch whenever Ireland are turned over. They have also become more clever and effective at committing those small, niggly, non-bookable fouls to stop opposition counters whenever it's threatened. The yet-to-dos Build a clear starting XI Hallgrimsson spoke early in the job of wanting to create an obvious hierarchy within the squad, with a settled starting XI building the kind of cohesion that is invaluable at international level. That hasn't happened. It's partly because of injury, partly because of the manager's own calls, and partly because some of those who have been given opportunities haven't done enough to make themselves undroppable. From this remove, only Caoimhín Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Robbie Brady, and Josh Cullen are an absolute lock to start against Hungary. Matt Doherty, Dara O'Shea, Jason Knight, and Troy Parrott have probably done enough to deserve inclusion too, but equally, would there be a big step-down if they were respectively replaced by Jake O'Brien, Liam Scales, Will Smallbone, and Adam Idah? Otherwise, all of Chiedozie Ogbene, Festy Ebosele, Mikey Johnston and Kasey McAteer are competing for a spot on the right wing, while Hallgrimsson can pick any two from McAteer, Johnson, Finn Azaz, Ryan Manning, Jack Taylor, Sammie Szmodics, and Evan Ferguson for the two number 10 spots. Every international manager wants options, but Hallgrimsson would prefer for one or two of these players to elevate themselves significantly above their compatriots. Stop leaking goals For all of Ireland's solidity in transition, they continue to concede goals: Tuesday's clean sheet against Luxembourg was only the second of Hallgrimsson's reign. (The first came at home to Finland, and required Caoimhín Kelleher to save a penalty.) Ireland have conceded 15 goals across Hallgrimsson's first 10 games, two more than the equivalent figure across Stephen Kenny's final 10 matches in charge. (Granted, a third of the Hallgrimsson figure came with 10 men in that berserk second half at Wembley, though Kenny's run includes home-and-away games against France and Netherlands.) Hallgrimsson has identified a trend of conceding from crosses, which he says comes from Ireland becoming too passive. This is a slightly worrying trend, that Ireland can struggle when they sink deep and defend their penalty area. With tests against Portugal and Hungary awaiting, that is something they must improve. Vastly improve the attack Though Ireland appear to be better balanced, they haven't vastly improved their attacking output, given they have scored eight goals across their 10 games under Hallgrimsson. Though it's a small sample size with which to make our contrast, Ireland averaged 1.175 goals per game across Stephen Kenny's 40 games. Take the outliers of a couple of strolls against Gibraltar out of the equation, and Ireland averaged 10.6 shots per game in Kenny's final year in charge, whereas they are at 9.1 per game under Hallgrimsson. Given Ireland are third seeds, they'll spend more of the forthcoming qualification group on the backfoot, but they must add more in attack to pick up the points they need, especially in the ties with bottom-ranked Armenia.
Sunday World
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Sunday World
Heimir Hallgrimsson targets four points from Ireland's first two World Cup games
Heimir Hallgrimsson is targeting at least four points from the Republic of Ireland's opening World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia. The Icelander spent his 58th birthday watching his team secure a laboured 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg, which he later admitted was 'boring' at times, in what was their final fixture before the competitive games start in September. A much-changed Ireland were far from at their best at the Stade de Luxembourg just four days after a creditable display in a 1-1 draw with Senegal, but Hallgrimsson knows the stakes will be raised significantly when the squad next meet up. Asked if they needed four points from the first two games, Hallgrimsson replied: 'Yes. Four points would be good; six points would be better.' He added: 'I give myself that you would say we get a draw against Hungary and win in Armenia – probably it would be worse if it was the opposite. 'Four points would be OK, a good start. Six is what we aim for.' Hallgrimsson will mark 12 months in his new job next month having presided over a modest improvement in Ireland's on-pitch fortunes – they have won four and drawn two of his 10 games to date, a return which had given him cause for optimism. Tuesday night's events came as something of a disappointment, as he admitted when asked where his team are compared to where he hoped they might be at this stage shortly after the final whistle in Luxembourg. Evan Ferguson of Ireland walks out for match against Luxembourg He replied: 'I would have been 100 per cent confident two hours ago, but this is also football. 'You can be a much better team and still lose a match. That's why everybody loves this game. It's because sometimes even with a good performance you can lose a game. That's why everybody loves it. 'It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team. You can look at all other sports, it doesn't happen. 'We didn't play well, we kept a clean sheet. If it had been a group stage, we would have had a point and OK, let's call that growth.' Ireland did hit the woodwork twice through Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor either side of half-time, but were indebted to debutant goalkeeper Max O'Leary for saves from Danel Sinani and Vincent Thill, and Hallgrimsson was particularly unimpressed with the opening 45 minutes. He said: 'We were really disappointed with the first half. It was actually just boring, there was nothing happening in the first half. 'We didn't play well, but we played away and didn't concede a goal, so even though we are not playing our best, if we can get points and maybe wins, that's a good sign.'
The Irish Sun
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Heimir Hallgrimsson outlines strategy for September's World Cup qualifiers after Luxembourg letdown
HEIMIR Hallgrimsson hopes to experience the joy of six in September — but he would settle for some four play. The optimism surrounding Ireland's chances of qualifying for a first World Cup in 24 years dropped on Tuesday night. A favourable draw in December, the efficiency in which they beat Bulgaria home and away in the Nations League play-off and But a dire display in the It served as a reminder that the chances of his side achieving anything easily are remote. Their qualifying campaign begins in September with a home game against Hungary before a trip to Armenia 72 hours later. Read more on Irish football In beating Azerbaijan in an away friendly on Tuesday, Hungary claimed only their second win in ten games since Euro 2024. But that run of results is more to do with the calibre of the sides they were facing — playing Germany, Netherlands, Bosnia and Turkey twice each — rather than a loss of form. In the same time frame, Armenia won just twice — both against Latvia. They have lost to the Faroe Islands and leaked 16 goals in their last four games. Given the double-headers in October and November each feature a game against Nations League winners Portugal — who complete the four-team group — a strong start is essential. Most read in Football And Hallgrimsson said: 'Four points would be good, six would be better. 'If we get a draw against Hungary and win in Armenia. Probably it would be worse if it was the opposite. Four points would be OK, a good start. Six is what we aim for.' Heimir Hallgrimsson surprised with birthday gift from Ireland fans during warm-ups for Luxembourg friendly It is not the first time Hallgrimsson has set such a target. He did the same for his first two games last September, But the opponents are not comparable and, while Hallgrimsson took a hands-off approach back then, his imprint is all over the side now. Or at least it was until Tuesday when the players did little of what was expected from them. Hallgrimsson said: 'It would have been nice to have a performance. 1 Heimir Hallgrimsson consoling Josh Honohan at full-time 'I don't mind if we would not have won but I would have liked a better performance, more clear progress from what we did against Senegal. 'We wanted the same performance against Senegal. There was a lot of energy in that game. Forward-thinking. Counter-pressing. It was missing here. Whatever it is, we need to analyse. "Did we prepare them correctly for this game? Do we need to change? It's disappointing that we didn't continue with the same momentum. 'We didn't play well but we played away and didn't concede a goal so even though we are not playing our best, if we can get points and maybe wins, that's a good sign.' HONOHAN DEBUT? And grinding out a result explains why, when it came to making substitutions later in the game, he turned to seasoned pro Matt Doherty rather than the uncapped Josh Honohan. Hallgrimsson said: 'We didn't want to lose this game. We wanted to keep a clean sheet. It's important to take some steps and we looked at the bench more for experience than maybe giving some players a chance. 'In this game, it could have gone both ways. We looked more for experience in the subs.' If players such as the Shamrock Rovers man were unhappy not to have been given an opportunity, others did not seize theirs in the manner in which they would have wished. Bar his set-pieces — his corner ultimately led to Kasey McAteer's goal against Senegal and Killian Phillips — who And following that, St Mirren — who he just completed a permanent move to after a successful loan — might not provide him the best platform to nail down a regular place in the squad. Similarly, McAteer was unable to reproduce the level of his performance in Dublin four days later. CONSISTENCY IS KEY Hallgrimsson said: 'It's important to be consistent, for everyone, just in life as well. 'You always want to grow, to use all your moments in life to grow, whether you're a footballer or a person. 'You always like to learn from your mistakes and be a better person after you make mistakes. 'This was one and hopefully we will all grow from it.' Jack Taylor arguably did better than most. He started on Friday and But he is among those who may drop back down the pecking order when Hallgrimsson is picking from a full deck. Aside from those who are sidelined but expected to be back in September, he had, for the most part, decided against picking Championship players whose season had ended at the start of May. And Hallgrimsson said: 'He has been great at times he has come in but so have others that maybe were not here.' FOOTBALL IS ONE-OF-A-KIND The Icelander hopes that, on second viewing, the performance might not be as bad as it seemed at the time. But he admitted his view of where his team was at the final whistle stood in sharp contrast to how it was before kick-off. He added: 'I would have been 100 per cent confident two hours ago but this is football. You can be a much better team and still lose a match. That's why everybody loves this game. 'It's because sometimes even with a good performance you can lose a game. It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team. 'You can look at all other sports, it doesn't happen. We didn't play well but we kept a clean sheet. 'If it had been a group stage, we would have had a point and, OK, let's call that growth. I'm not going to take too much from this because we have had steady growth. 'There are so many factors that could have produced a little bit lower quality performance. When I look at it, I will probably be happier with many things. 'We should do better than we did. We all know that. We're not shy to say it. We need to do better than we did if we are going to qualify.'
The Irish Sun
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Heimir Hallgrimsson promises not to ‘hang or execute anyone' for ‘boring' performance against Luxembourg
HEIMIR Hallgrimsson insists he is a lover not a slater as he spared his players an ear-bashing. The Ireland boss was hugely disappointed with his side's performance in Advertisement 2 The 58 year-old's side failed to score against Luxembourg 2 Robbie Brady was forced off due to injury in the first half But 'Whatever I would shout now would probably be gone by the next time we meet up.' He also said: 'I cannot lie, we are obviously 'It felt like steps were taken and, yeah, I think we took maybe not a step backwards but we didn't take the next step. Advertisement Read more on Irish football 'But I'm not going to hang or execute anyone for this performance. 'We were really disappointed with the first half. 'It was actually just boring, there was nothing happening in the first half.' Although Ireland hit the woodwork in both halves, they struggled to break their lowly opponents down and gave up chances at the other end. Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog Exclusive The draw extended Ireland's unbeaten run to four games — but it was a poor way for most of the players to sign off before their summer break. Yet Hallgrimsson reckoned there was no point in reading the riot act to them at half-time or full-time because they know themselves better will be required in the World Cup qualifying campaign in the autumn. Heimir Hallgrimsson surprised with birthday gift from Ireland fans during warm-ups for Luxembourg friendly He added: 'We talked at half-time. It's not about tactics. It's not about formations. 'It was more about attitude — are you willing to do the work that's necessary? The basics that are necessary in a football game. Advertisement 'No matter who you play, no matter whether it's a competitive or a friendly game, you need to do the basics. 'You need to deliver all the work that's necessary. That was just missing, the basics. 'Credit to the players, that changed in the second half, there was more momentum, more power, more energy — still we were not happy but we didn't lose at least. 'I'm not a shouter and we didn't because everybody — and after the game as well — knew that this was not a good performance.' Advertisement Hallgrimsson should have more options to choose from in September, when the qualifiers begin with a home match against Hungary on September 6 followed by an away fixture in Armenia three days later. Veteran Séamus Coleman and Ipswich Town pair Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene will hope to have recovered from injuries by then. And he will also be able to call upon regulars such as Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz and Mikey Johnston who were rested on this occasion because of the long gap since the end of the Championship season. Robbie Brady was the only player from the English second tier not involved in the play-offs in the squad before Bosun Lawal's addition. Advertisement The 33-year-old limped off in Tuesday's first half but his calf injury is not thought to be serious.
