Latest news with #HeimirHallgrimsson
Irish Examiner
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
John Fallon: One year in for Heimir, the second will shape his Ireland future
WITHOUT the merest morsel of ceremony, Heimir Hallgrimsson's first anniversary in the Ireland job recently passed. It's how he fares by the second that his reign will be judged. Football's current lull will soon be over. Gone is the hurling, soon to be joined by the GAA and camogie intercounty seasons. Golf Majors reached a crescendo on home soil last weekend and the Lions tour will conclude the weekend after next. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Take us with you this summer. Annual €130€65 Best value Monthly €12€6 / month
Irish Examiner
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Sporting Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade to host Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Portugal
Sporting Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade will host the Republic of Ireland's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification tie away to Portugal on October 11. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal were confirmed as the top seeds in Ireland's group, alongside Hungary and Armenia last March. The fixture will kick-off at 7.45pm Irish time, with the FAI noting ticket details will follow in due course. Heimir Hallgrimsson's men will begin their campaign with the visit of Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary to the Aviva Stadium on September 6. The winner of the group will qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, while the runner-up will need to navigate their way through the play-off route next year. Fixtures: September 6 – Ireland v Hungary, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm September 9 – Armenia v Ireland, Republic Stadium, 5pm (Irish Time) October 11 – Portugal v Ireland, Estádio José Alvalade 7.45pm (Irish Time) October 14 – Ireland v Armenia, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm November 13 – Ireland v Portugal, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm November 16 – Hungary v Ireland, TBC, 2pm (Irish Time)
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.'
RTÉ News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Heimir Hallgrimsson wants quick start to fuel World Cup dream
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." "It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team." 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. He replied: "I would have been 100% 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."
