The veterans made the cut. Heimir Hallgrímsson was in fine form after announcing his Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup playoff in Prague next Thursday, despite naming several players worryingly light on match fitness.
“Did I?” said Hallgrímsson, feigning ignorance when his September logic for overlooking Séamus Coleman, due to a lack of game time at Everton, was revisited on a rare sunny day in Abbotstown.
You did.
“Let’s just make this easy: Séamus proved me wrong. Coming in [after defeat to Armenia], he just proved me wrong. He was ready when I was doubting him.”
Coleman lasted 10 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford, eight days after a heroic 60-minute shift against Hungary in Budapest on November 16th, before his hamstring went again.
Not a minute more pitch-time since, the 37-year-old has glided between the Toffees bench and a coaching role alongside his club manager David Moyes.
“Always, when you’re wrong, you learn. That’s life, you make mistakes, you make wrong decisions and to grow you need to learn from those things.”
And so, Coleman, Robbie Brady and Chiedozie Ogbene return to the fold with a combined 67 minutes for their clubs since the magical night at the Puskás Aréna.
Robbie Brady: so invested in Czech Republic game, Preston North End have only got 36 minutes out of him since last month. Photograph: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Brady is arguably the best player from a generation of Irish footballers that have fallen short of returning to a major tournament since Euro 2016. Despite being voted the FAI’s best player in the 2024/25 season, the 34-year-old’s career has been pockmarked by cruel setbacks.
He spent the past nine months nursing a calf issue. The Dubliner was so cautious and so invested in featuring against the Czech Republic that Preston North End have only got 36 minutes out of him since his return last month.
Brady could feature against Stoke City and the recently hamstrung Bosun Lawal at Deepdale tonight, but Hallgrímsson does not need either man to play before they enter camp on Sunday night.
“It is always better to see Robbie playing, whether he plays 10 or 15 minutes. Is it make or break? I don’t think so.
“Hopefully he will be the same as Séamus,” the Icelander smiled. “He was probably our best player in the last Nations League campaign.
“It’s been quite a long time since he played so its always in the back of my mind. I’ve been proven wrong once so hopefully he can do that again.”
Brady brings all sorts of options to this Ireland team. He can free up Ryan Manning to play higher off the left and he can replace the injured Josh Cullen as a set piece specialist.
Bosun Lawal of Stoke City may be making his debut with the Republic of Ireland squad in Prague. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
Like Coleman, he brings a leadership that is built upon those heady nights in France at Euro 2016.
“Exactly,” Hallgrímsson replied. “We know that his mentality will overcome a lot of things. He was crying at missing the last matches. Like Séamus, he’s a genuine Irish person that breathes and lives for the national team.”
Ogbene is such an explosive, hard-running athlete that his career has been disrupted by muscle injuries. A ruptured Achilles forced him out of Ipswich Town this season only to struggle for exposure at Sheffield United where he’s had to play with the Blades’ under-21 side to regain sharpness.
Hallgrímsson prefers to remember how he tortured Portuguese and Hungarian defenders last year.
“Chieo’s just an optimistic dude all of the time. He sees things clearly and knows what he’s to do to be 100 per cent with us. And he’s done that.”
If not for some awful injuries, the trio would combine for significantly more than 179 caps. Nonetheless, their experience might prompt Hallgrímsson to hand Lawal his debut in the biggest Ireland game since the last-16 defeat to France 10 years ago.
Republic of Ireland Squad Announcement, FAI HQ, Dublin 19/3/2026
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
As soon as the former Iceland and Jamaica manager was appointed in July 2024 he has been searching for an imposing midfielder to sit alongside Cullen. The Burnley captain’s knee surgery in December is an incalculable loss against an aggressive Czech midfield where West Ham’s Tomás Soucek will make lung-busting raids into the Irish box.
Hallgrímsson echoed the comments of Czech manager Miroslav Koubek, who expects a “war” at the Fortuna Arena.
“Bosun is physical, he’s taller so he can cope with what we expect this game to be about.”
Lawal was excelling at Stoke until he strained his hamstring for a second time this season against Charlton Athletic on February 11th, with the 22-year-old’s wait to become an Ireland international seemingly scuppered by cautionary comments from Stoke manager Mark Robins.
“I have almost daily talks with him,” Hallgrímsson continued. “He is fit, his numbers are good. He’s ready to come in, and that’s what matters to us, not what his coach thinks.”
Lawal alongside Jayson Molumby would bring plenty of bite to proceedings in Prague.
“Even though he hasn’t played, he has been with us in at least two camps so he knows exactly how we like to do things and what we expect of players. He, like anyone else, could start.”
