Republic of Ireland national football team – record in major tournaments: Difference between revisions

This page covers the record of the Republic of Ireland national football team in the Football World Cup and the European Football Championship. In the "Results" section, home results are written before away results. Where the Republic of Ireland only played a team once, (h), (a) and (n) indicate home, away or neutral respectively.

Results

Qualification

Tournament	Section	Placing	Results	Notes
Uruguay 1930	Did not enter			Only 4 European teams entered the first World Cup.
Italy 1934	Group 7: 3 teams, 2 qualify	3rd, 1pt/4	Netherlands 2-5 (a)  Belgium 4-4 (h)	Competed as "Irish Free State". Paddy Moore (v. Belgium) became the first player anywhere to score 4 goals in a World Cup match.
France 1938	Group 2: 2 teams, 1 qualifies	Losers	Norway 3-3, 2-3
Brazil 1950	Group 5: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	2nd, 3pts/8	Sweden 1-3, 1-3  Finland 3-0, 1-1	After 3 qualified teams withdrew, FIFA invited the FAI to compete as a replacement: they declined.[1]
Switzerland 1954	Group 4: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	2nd, 4pts/8	France 3-5, 0-1  Luxembourg 4-0, 1-0
Sweden 1958	Group 1: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	2nd, 5pts/8	England 1-1, 1-5  Denmark 2-1, 2-0
Euro 1960, France	knockout, must win 3 rounds	Lost in preliminary round	Czechoslovakia 2-0, 0-4	This was the only fixture of the preliminary round, but was played after several first-round matches.[2]
Chile 1962	Group 8: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	3rd, 0pts/8	Czechoslovakia 1-3, 1-7  Scotland 0-3, 1-4	The only qualifying tournament in which the team had a 0% record.
Euro 1964, Spain	knockout, must win 3 rounds	Lost in Quarter-finals	Preliminary:  Iceland 4-2, 1-1 Last 16:  Austria 3-2, 0-0 Quarter-final: Spain 0-2, 1-5
England 1966	Group 9: 2 teams (Syria withdrew), 1 qualifies	Tied; Lost playoff	Spain 1-0, 1-4 Playoff: Spain 0-1 (n)	Goal difference did not count, so a playoff was played in Stade Colombes, Paris.
Euro 1968, Italy	Group 1: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff	3rd, 5pts/12	Spain 0-0, 0-2  Czechoslovakia 0-2, 2-1  Turkey 2-1, 1-2
Mexico 1970	Group 2: 4 teams, 2 qualify	4th, 1pt/12	Hungary 1-2, 0-4  Czechoslovakia 1-2, 0-3  Denmark 1-1, 0-2
Euro 1972, Belgium	Group 6: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff	4th, 1pt/12	Italy 1-2, 0-3  Austria 1-4, 0-6  Sweden 1-1, 0-1
West Germany 1974	Group 9: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	2nd, 3pts/8	Soviet Union 1-2, 0-1  France 2-1, 1-1
Euro 1976, Yugoslavia	Group 6: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff	2nd, 7pts/12	Soviet Union 3-0, 1-2  Turkey 4-0, 1-1   Switzerland 2-1, 0-1	Don Givens scored all 7 goals in the wins over USSR and Turkey.
Argentina 1978	Group 5: 3 teams, 1 qualifies	3rd, 3pts/8	France 1-0, 0-2  Bulgaria 0-0, 1-2
Euro 1980, Italy	Group 1: 5 teams, 1 qualifies	3rd, 7pts/16	England 1-1, 0-2  Northern Ireland 0-0, 0-1  Bulgaria 3-0, 0-1  Denmark 2-0, 3-3	The first-ever matches against Northern Ireland.
Spain 1982	Group 2: 5 teams, 2 qualify	3rd, 10pts/16	Belgium 1-1, 0-1  France 3-2, 0-2  Netherlands 2-1, 2-2  Cyprus 6-0, 3-2	Lost on goal difference to France in a tough and tight group. Fans lamented some controversial refereeing decisions[3]
Euro 1984, France	Group 7: 5 teams, 1 qualifies	3rd, 9pts/16	Netherlands 2-3, 1-2  Spain 3-3, 0-2  Iceland 2-0, 3-0  Malta 8-0, 1-0	8-0 v. Malta remains the team's record victory.
Mexico 1986	Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify	4th, 6pts/16	Denmark 1-4, 0-3  Soviet Union 1-0, 0-2   Switzerland 3-0, 0-0  Norway 0-0, 0-1	The last League of Ireland player to play a competitive match for the senior team was Pat Byrne of Shamrock Rovers against Denmark in November 1985.
Euro 1988, West Germany	Group 7: 5 teams, 1 qualifies	1st, 11pts/16 QUALIFIED	Bulgaria 2-0, 1-2  Belgium 0-0, 2-2  Scotland 0-0, 1-0  Luxembourg 2-1, 2-0	Qualified with the help of a surprise[4] 1-0 win for Scotland in Bulgaria in the last match.
Italy 1990	Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify	2nd, 12pts/16 QUALIFIED	Spain 1-0, 0-2  Hungary 2-0, 0-0  Northern Ireland 3-0, 0-0  Malta 2-0, 2-0
Euro 1992, Sweden	Group 7: 4 teams, 1 qualifies	2nd, 8pts/12	England 1-1, 1-1  Poland 0-0, 3-3  Turkey 5-0, 3-1	The team's first ever unbeaten qualifying series: and yet they didn't progress.
USA 1994	Group 3: 7 teams, 2 qualify	2nd, 18pts/24 QUALIFIED	Spain 1-3, 0-0  Denmark 1-1, 0-0  Northern Ireland 3-0, 1-1  Lithuania 2-0, 1-0  Latvia 4-0, 2-0  Albania 2-0, 2-1	Finished exactly level with Denmark on points and goal difference, only separated by Goals scored.
Euro 1996, England	Group 6: 6 teams, 1 qualifies Six 2nd place teams qualify Two 2nd place teams have playoff	2nd, 17pts/30 Ranked 8th of 8 runners-up Lost playoff	Portugal 1-0, 0-3  Northern Ireland 1-1, 4-0  Austria 1-3, 1-3  Latvia 2-1, 3-0  Liechtenstein 4-0, 0-0 Playoff:  Netherlands 0-2 (n)	0-0 v. Liechtenstein is remembered[citation needed] as one of the team's worst results of all time. The playoff was held in Anfield, Liverpool.
France 1998	Group 8: 6 teams, 1 qualifies One 2nd place team qualifies Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs	2nd, 18pts/30 Lost playoff	Romania 1-1, 0-1  Lithuania 0-0, 2-1  North Macedonia 3-0, 2-3  Iceland 0-0, 4-2  Liechtenstein 5-0, 5-0 Playoff:  Belgium 1-1, 1-2	Scraped into the playoffs largely due to Tony Cascarino's 7 goals in 10 games. 5-0 v. Liechtenstein is the team's record away win, in which David Connolly had a hat trick.
Euro 2000, Netherlands & Belgium	Group 8 6 teams, 1 qualifies One 2nd place team qualifies Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs	2nd, 16pts/24 Lost playoff	Yugoslavia 2-1, 0-1  Croatia 2-0, 0-1  North Macedonia 1-0, 1-1  Malta 5-0, 3-2 Playoff:  Turkey 1-1, 0-0 (Turkey won on away goals)	The FAI originally cancelled the home match against Yugoslavia, after the government refused entry visas to the opposing team purportedly due to the NATO assault on Yugoslavia[5] (although Ireland is not a member of NATO.)
South Korea & Japan 2002	Group 2: 7 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff	2nd, 24pts/30 Won playoff QUALIFIED	Portugal 1-1, 1-1  Netherlands 1-0, 2-2  Estonia 2-0, 2-0  Cyprus 4-0, 4-0  Andorra 3-1, 3-0 Playoff:  Iran 2-0, 0-1	Of the 25 goals scored in qualifying, only 4 were scored by strikers: 2 by Robbie Keane, 1 by David Connolly and 1 by Niall Quinn.
Euro 2004, Portugal	Group 10: 5 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff	3rd, 11pts/24	Switzerland 1-2, 0-2  Russia 1-1, 2-4  Albania 2-1, 0-0  Georgia 2-0, 2-1
Germany 2006	Group 4: 6 teams, 1 qualifies Two 2nd place teams qualify Six 2nd place teams have a playoff	4th, 17pts/30	France 0-1, 0-0   Switzerland 0-0, 1-1  Israel 2-2, 1-1  Cyprus 3-0, 1-0  Faroe Islands 2-0, 2-0	Apart from the Republic of Ireland's loss to France, the top 4 teams drew all matches against each other, and won against the other two.
Euro 2008, Switzerland & Austria	Group D: 7 teams, 2 qualify	3rd, 17pts/36	Czech Republic 1-1, 0-1  Germany 0-0, 0-1  Slovakia 1-0, 2-2  Wales 1-0, 2-2  Cyprus 1-1, 2-5  San Marino 5-0, 2-1	After losing to Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland fell below Northern Ireland in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since they began in 1992.[6] Robbie Keane scored a hat-trick against San Marino, in the last soccer international played at Lansdowne Road prior to redevelopment. The first qualifying campaign since the 1986 World Cup where the Republic of Ireland were eliminated before their last game.
South Africa 2010	Group 8: 6 teams, 1 qualifies Eight of nine runners-up get a playoff	2nd, 18pts/30 Ranked 8th of 9 runners-up Qualifed for playoff	Italy 2-2, 1-1  Bulgaria 1-1, 1-1  Cyprus 1-0, 2-1  Montenegro 0-0, 0-0  Georgia 2-1, 2-1 Playoff:  France 0-1, 1-1 (second leg went to extra time)	This was Montenegro's first major tournament. The Georgia away tie was played at a neutral venue in Mainz, Germany due to the 2008 South Ossetia war. France's Thierry Henry handled the ball in order to set up William Gallas to score in the second leg of the playoff; the referee did not notice and allowed the goal to stand. This led to widespread media controversy, protests at the French embassy in Dublin and comments from senior government officials from both countries.[7][8][9]

Finals tournaments

Euro 1988

Match	Date	Venue	Result	Irish Team	Notes
Group Game 1	June 12	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart	England 0  Republic of Ireland 1 (Houghton 6')	Pat Bonner; Chris Morris, Chris Hughton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran; Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan, Paul McGrath, Tony Galvin (sub Kevin Sheedy 76'); Frank Stapleton (c.) (sub Niall Quinn 63'), John Aldridge,	Houghton's goal was a rare header. The team spent most of the rest of the game defending the lead.[10]
Group Game 2	June 15	Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover	Republic of Ireland 1 (Whelan 38') Soviet Union 1 (Protasov 74')	Bonner; Morris, Hughton, McCarthy, Moran; Houghton, Whelan, Galvin, Sheedy; Stapleton (c.) (Tony Cascarino 80'), Aldridge.	Whelan's goal was a spectacular overhead volley from a McCarthy throw-in.[11] Protasov nutmegged Bonner for the equaliser.[12]
Group Game 3	June 18	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen	Republic of Ireland 0  Netherlands 1 (Kieft 82')	Bonner; Morris (Sheedy 45'), Hughton, McCarthy, Moran; Houghton, Whelan, McGrath, Galvin; Stapleton (c.) (Cascarino 82'), Aldridge.	Substitute Kieft's header was going well wide but bounced with severe spin into the net.[13]

World Cup Italia 90

Match	Date	Venue	Result	Irish Team	Notes
Group Game 1	June 11	Stadio Sant'Elia, Cagliari	England 1 (Lineker 8')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Sheedy 73')	Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Alan McLoughlin 64'), Tony Cascarino, Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend	Nine of the players who represented the Republic of Ireland in this game were born in the United Kingdom.
Group Game 2	June 17	Stadio Della Favorita, Palermo	Republic of Ireland 0  Egypt 0	Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Ronnie Whelan 62'), Kevin Sheedy (Tony Cascarino 62'), Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn
Group Game 3	June 21	Stadio Della Favorita, Palermo	Netherlands 1 (Gullit 10')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Quinn 71')	Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Alan McLoughlin 64'), Tony Cascarino (Niall Quinn 84'), Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend
Second Round	June 25	Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa	Republic of Ireland 0  Romania 0 aet, 5-4 penalties	Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton (David O'Leary 94'), Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Tony Cascarino 22'), Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn	A Bonner save from Daniel Timofte in the shootout sent the Irish team through to the quarter-final.
Quarter Final	June 30	Stadio Olimpico, Rome	Italy 1 (Schillaci 38')  Republic of Ireland 0	Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (John Sheridan 78'), Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn (Tony Cascarino 53')

World Cup USA 94

Match	Date	Venue	Result	Irish Team	Notes
Group Game 1	June 18	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford	Italy 0  Republic of Ireland 1 (Houghton 11')	Pat Bonner; Denis Irwin, Terry Phelan, Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton (sub Jason McAteer 68'), John Sheridan, Steve Staunton; Tommy Coyne (sub John Aldridge 80')	This 1-0 win was Ireland's first victory in a World Cup Finals match. The match was won by Houghton's early strike, which dipped over the keeper into the net.
Group Game 2	June 23	Citrus Bowl, Orlando	Mexico 2 (Luis García 42' 65')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Aldridge 84')	Pat Bonner, Denis Irwin, Terry Phelan, Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton, John Sheridan, Steve Staunton (sub Jason McAteer 66'); Tommy Coyne (sub John Aldridge 67')	This game featured the infamous incident about the officials not allowing John Aldridge to go on as a substitute. Aldridge lost his cool before ultimately coming on and scoring, and Jack Charlton was fined and suspended from the dugout in Ireland's final group match with Norway.
Group Game 3	June 28	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford	Republic of Ireland 0  Norway 0	Pat Bonner; Gary Kelly, Steve Staunton, Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Jason McAteer, Roy Keane, Andy Townsend (sub Ronnie Whelan 75'), John Sheridan, Ray Houghton; John Aldridge (sub David Kelly 65')
Second Round	July 4	Citrus Bowl, Orlando	Netherlands 2 (Bergkamp 11', Jonk 41')  Republic of Ireland 0	Pat Bonner; Gary Kelly, Terry Phelan, Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton, John Sheridan, Steve Staunton (sub Jason McAteer 63'); John Aldridge, Tommy Coyne (sub Tony Cascarino 74')

World Cup Korea-Japan 2002

Match	Date	Venue	Result	Irish Team	Notes
Group Game 1	June 1	Niigata Stadium Big Swan, Niigata, Japan	Cameroon 1 (Mboma 39')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Holland52') Report	Shay Given; Gary Kelly, Ian Harte (sub Steven Reid 77'), Gary Breen, Steve Staunton; Jason McAteer (sub Steve Finnan 45'), Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella, Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane
Group Game 2	June 5	Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan	Germany 1 (Klose 19')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Robbie Keane 90') Report	Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub Steven Reid 73'), Gary Breen, Steve Staunton (sub Kenny Cunningham 87'); Gary Kelly (sub Niall Quinn 73'), Matt Holland, Kevin Kilbane, Mark Kinsella, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane	The Republic's first ever competitive match against a German side.
Group Game 3	June 11	International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Republic of Ireland 3 (Robbie Keane 7', Breen 61', Duff 87')  Saudi Arabia 0 Report	Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub Niall Quinn 45'), Gary Breen, Steve Staunton; Gary Kelly (sub Jason McAteer 80'), Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella (sub Lee Carsley 89'), Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane,	This was the first time an Irish player had scored more than one goal in total in the World Cup Finals. Robbie Keane eventually went on to score three goals in the competition.
Second Round	June 16	Big Bird Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Spain 1 (Morientes 8')  Republic of Ireland 1 (Robbie Keane 90' pen) aet, lost 3-2 penalties Report	Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub David Connolly 82'), Gary Breen, Steve Staunton (sub Kenny Cunningham 50'); Gary Kelly (sub Niall Quinn 55'), Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella, Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane

All-time records

Accurate to September 11, 2008.

UEFA countries the Republic of Ireland have never played competitively

Current

•  Armenia
•  Azerbaijan
•  Belarus
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Greece (have previously played in friendlies)
•  Kazakhstan
•  Moldova
•  Serbia
•  Slovenia
•  Ukraine

Defunct

•  East Germany
•  Saar

References