Soccer

Evan Ferguson makes Ireland return as Heimir Hallgrímsson names first squad

Leicester City winger Kasey McAteer is in line to make international debut against England as Séamus Coleman returns to squad

Evan Ferguson has been included in the first Irish squad selected by Heimir Hallgrímsson, despite not having played any football for the past five months. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Evan Ferguson has been included in the first Irish squad selected by Heimir Hallgrímsson, despite not having played any football for the past five months. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Malachy Clerkin
Thu Aug 29 2024 - 12:58

Evan Ferguson is back in the Ireland squad, despite not having played any football for the past five months. While there is no guarantee that he will play against either England or Greece in the upcoming Nations League matches at the Aviva, Ferguson is available to join up with the squad next week.

“He has some quality that’s good to have,” said Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. “We’ll see in the five days in training how fit he is. He’s fit enough to be in the squad for Brighton, no objections from the club that we selected him. Hopefully he’s fitter than everybody thinks. We’ll see in training.”

Elsewhere, it has taken a while to get Kasey McAteer cleared for an Ireland call-up but it has happened in time for Hallgrímsson to name him in the 23. McAteer, the Leicester City winger who has come off the bench in both of the Foxes’ opening two games in the Premier League this season, is one of two uncapped members of Hallgrímsson’s squad, with goalkeeper Max O’Leary the other.

Stephen Kenny had McAteer as a work in progress during his time in the job, attempting to secure the English-born player’s eligibility. The winger joined Leicester as an eight-year-old and played a key role in their promotion from the Championship last season, having been out on loan to AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers since making his Premier League debut in 2021.

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Elsewhere in the squad, Séamus Coleman, Ferguson and Jayson Molumby return after protracted injury lay-offs and Callum Robinson returns having missed most of the last campaign. Chiedozie Ogbene and Nathan Collins missed the Hungary and Portugal friendlies through injury before the Euros and they return as well.

Of the regulars, Gavin Bazunu, Josh Cullen and Mikey Johnston all miss out with various injuries. There’s no place in the squad for Shane Duffy, Jamie McGrath, Finn Azaz, Tom Cannon or Michael Obafemi.

“First and foremost, I looked at players in squad for last two games,” said Hallgrimsson. “John [O’Shea] and Paddy [McCarthy] selected the squads for the last two camps. I was looking at those players and asking about individuals. I’ve been trying to look at as many players as possible. In-depth knowledge is probably not enough for me.

“This is more based on knowledge of John and Paddy. [In] this camp I have a chance to get to know them personally and after then I go to watch them live and see more of the players. At this stage I’m not going to say I know it all. I need the help of those two guys to expedite what we can do. Probably more them than me in this selection. After, I will catch up.

“I have a philosophy of how a national team should play. I have my philosophy on what it possible to do. It’s such a difference having a club compared to national team. You don’t have much time. You need to keep things simple. You need to have continuity.

“You don’t have a pre-season, don’t have them all day, every day, can’t train two times a day. At this time, we probably have three training sessions. How much can you influence if you try to over-do things? Probably you would fail. Start slowly, and build from that. I’m lucky we have games in September, October and November so players won’t be away for 5-6 months and then come back. They will at least know what happened three weeks ago. That’s a good time to start so you can build hopefully, little by little.”

Ireland host England at the Aviva on Saturday, September 7th before bringing Greece to Lansdowne Road the following Tuesday.

Republic of Ireland squad for Nations League matches against England and Greece

Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (Bristol City).

Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O’Dowda (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).

Midfielders: Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Browne (Sunderland), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City).

Forwards: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Callum Robinson (Cardiff City), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).

Fixtures

Saturday, September 7th: Ireland v England, Aviva Stadium, 5.0

Tuesday, September 10th: Ireland v Greece, Aviva Stadium, 7.45

Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for Euro qualifiers against Turkey and Latvia

Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Gateshead), Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion), Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur).

Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Emmanuel Adegboyega (Dundee United, on loan from Norwich City),  Sam Curtis (Peterborough United, on loan from Sheffield United), James Furlong (Wimbledon, on loan from Hull City), Anselmo Garcia-MacNulty (PEC Zwolle), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Connor O’Riordan (Cambridge United, on loan from Blackburn Rovers), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City).

Midfielders: Baba Adeeko (Wigan Athletic), Matt Healy (Royal Francs Borains), Joe Hodge (Huddersfield Town, on loan from Wolves), Andrew Moran (Stoke City, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Killian Phillips (St. Mirren, on loan from Crystal Palace), Rocco Vata (Watford).

Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (Bristol City), Aidomo Emakhu (Millwall), Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers, on loan from Celtic), Mark O’Mahony (Portsmouth, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Leyton Orient), Armstrong Oko-Flex (FC Zürich), Franco Umeh (Crystal Palace).

Fixtures

Friday, September 6th: Turkey v Ireland, Esenir Stadium, Istanbul, 5.45pm

Tuesday, September 10th: Ireland v Latvia, Tallaght Stadium, 5pm

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin is a sports writer with The Irish Times