Imagining how Ireland can qualify for the North American World Cup in 2026 requires a giant leap of faith. But let’s map out a Christmas miracle.
Heimir Hallgrímsson is the only person who truly believes it is possible. Or he is the only person willing to say it out loud.
The rest of us know better, by now.
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What happened over the next eight years is well documented, but it was Brady who scored the winner in Helsinki last October as Hallgrímsson’s practical approach to the international game yielded a foundation for progress.
Nothing more. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary – like conceding five goals to England in the second half at Wembley – to ridicule anyone who suggests Ireland can top a group including Denmark, Hungary and Armenia.
To even contemplate first place if Portugal replace Denmark as top opponents is to defy logic.
Hallgrímsson gets a pass, obviously. As Ireland manager, he should be sticking his chest out and saying it is possible to qualify. I like his overall attitude, especially the way his coaching brain works. He came up with a plan to beat Finland home and away.
Against Greece and England at home last September, he had no time to prepare the team and it showed. Those defeats in Dublin were excruciating to watch as they exposed how far Irish football has fallen down the European pecking order.
At least, come October, Hallgrímsson figured out how to stymie Greece in Athens. It didn’t work but a strategy was visible. He spoke about a brittle collective spirit. He understands the problem.
Everything was running smoothly at Wembley in November until Liam Scales was sent off.
The decline of the national side has been gaining pace since Euro 2016 but losing 5-0 to England was a new low.
There have been other signs, like defeat in Armenia and to Luxembourg. How far back should we go?
Hallgrímsson offers a clean slate. The Ireland manager remains reliant on Brady as there is not much fresh talent coming into the group in 2025, so his constant mantra about needing to be greater than the sum of our parts is encouraging.
There was a time when Denmark, Hungary, and even Portugal coming to Dublin would be chalked down as three possible wins. Under Stephen Kenny, in 2021, Ireland produced two outstanding performances against Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese. But 0-0 at Lansdowne Road was the best result we could muster.
Kenny’s style of managing Ireland was before its time. He tried to sell possession football with players who lacked the technical ability to adapt. It showed against the likes of Armenia and Gibraltar. Countries like Greece and Serbia rammed it down our throats.
We know why Ireland have become a third seed. We are suffering the consequences of neglecting our youth ranks when John Delaney was FAI CEO and even before him. For decades.
We know what needs to happen before any of us can expect Ireland to qualify for major tournaments. Euro 2028, as co-hosts, is a free hit with guaranteed group games in Dublin.
Hallgrímsson feels like the right man to bring some respectability back to the team. The FAI have invested in the Icelander, but nobody expects Ireland to reach the World Cup. We do expect the Aviva Stadium to become a feared international venue again for all comers.
It’s a lifetime ago, but Irish teams I played on in the early 2000s walked on to that pitch convinced we would win. I find it hard to accept that is no longer the case.
Hallgrímsson can change that, at least. Nothing would make me happier, come the summer of 2026, if I’m analysing on Canadian TV the spine of an Irish side that is playing group games in Toronto and Vancouver. I want to be telling a soccer-mad audience how Hallgrímsson built a sturdy outfit around Caoimhín Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Andrew Moran and Evan Ferguson.
I don’t expect this to happen. But I do expect Hallgrímsson to use the next nine months to shape a team that is comparable to his Iceland side that performed at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
The Icelandic revolution proved unsustainable. They have plummeted to 70th in the Fifa rankings because too many countries, like Georgia and Hungary, have put their greater resources to better use.
We know what Hallgrímsson plans to do because he has told us. He wants to make us a nightmare to play against. We will go out to stop a Harry Kane or a Jude Bellingham by dropping Nathan Collins’s big body into the space they like to play. His Irish team will frustrate and fight the opposition.
Hungary are a good example of how we could set up against superior countries. Expect a compact and disciplined approach from a side that counterattacks at pace when Dominik Szoboszlai leads the Hungarians into the Aviva for our first World Cup qualifier in September.
Before that, in March, Heimir has a meaningful Nations League relegation play-off against Bulgaria home and away followed by two June friendlies to drill his principles into the group.
It starts by not losing. That comes from grit and aggression, and that comes from players taking pride in their performances. A few draws from the jaws of defeat will also be required.
Don’t expect a saviour, like Szoboszlai, to suddenly appear. People around Middlesbrough rave about Finn Azaz so he might shine as our number 10. Andrew Moran will come through and maybe Bosun Lawal of Stoke could fill the midfield hole beside Josh Cullen.
Hopefully Ferguson and Kelleher start to play regularly in the Premier League. We also need Chiedozie Ogbene to recover from his Achilles injury. He has time. Ogbene is a leader by deed. As is Festy Ebosele. We don’t have too many like them any more. And we all have doubts about seeing Séamus Coleman in green again, but Collins should lead this team into the future.
That’s Ireland in 2024 and probably 2025. Nobody expects them to make the North American World Cup but I am desperate to watch them on my home turf.
USA ‘94 revisited, imagine?
An Irish football revival does not come from playing neat and tidy football. It starts by being impossible to beat on September 6th. We live in hope.
