Séamus Coleman and John Egan return to Ireland squad for World Cup qualifiers

Former Republic of Ireland captains Séamus Coleman and John Egan have been recalled to a 24-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia.

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson hopes to add Troy Parrott to his squad after the Portugal game providing the striker continues his recovery from a knee injury by lining out for his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar this weekend. The striker will then join with the squad in Dublin on Monday.

Injuries to Matt Doherty (wrist operation), Bosun Lawal (hamstring) and Jason Knight (groin) prompted Hallgrímsson to recall Coleman, Egan and Jayson Molumby, who bring 138 caps worth of experience and a leadership that was glaringly absent in the September window when Ireland drew 2-2 at home to Hungary and lost 2-1 in Armenia.

The injured trio are not expected to recover in time for the November games at home to Portugal and Hungary in Budapest.

Nathan Collins is expected to continue as the Ireland captain despite the return of Coleman.

“Séamus is back in,” said Hallgrímsson. “I’ve been criticised for not picking and will probably be criticised now for picking him. He is fit and ready to play and do everything for his country. He is in for football reasons but of course he will bring experience and leadership skills into this squad.”

Egan’s last cap came against the Netherlands in September 2023 as the 32-year-old subsequently suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone also returns to the squad while Istanbul Başakşehir winger Festy Ebosele and Ferencváros winger Callum O’Dowda are recalled after impressive displays for their Turkish and Hungarian clubs.

Killian Philips and Jimmy Dunne have been overlooked for selection while Shamrock Rovers wing back Josh Honahan also missed the cut despite replacing Sammie Szmodics last month.

Szmodics, who missed the defeat in Yerevan, has returned to fitness at Ipswich Town.

Robbie Brady is still unavailable with a calf injury having also missed the September window.

The FAI have sold 40,000 tickets for the Armenia game.

“It was a one-off, hopefully, in Armenia,” said Hallgrímsson. “Should we then totally change course and do something different with other players? I think that would be a wrong thing to do, definitely.

“Secondly, the players will relish this camp to answer for Armenia and I would like to give them that chance. That is one of the reasons why we believe in this group of players. They have the quality to qualify for the US in the summer but what I think and what I say is not the most important. It is what they say and what they believe and they will hopefully show you in this camp that they can play for this nation.”

Republic of Ireland squad

Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Everton).

Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), John Egan (Hull City), Ryan Manning (Southampton), Callum O’Dowda (Ferencvaros).

Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Will Smallbone (Millwall), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Finn Azaz (Southampton).

Attackers: Evan Ferguson (AS Roma), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United), Festy Ebosele (Istanbul Başakşehir), Kasey McAteer (Ipswich Town).

Fixtures

Saturday, October 11th: Portugal v Republic of Ireland, Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, 7.45pm.

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