2019 Review: Ireland MNT

With Dublin hosting four games at EURO 2020, the target at the start of the year was to secure a place at next summer’s main event and the qualifying campaign started well as Ireland went six games unbeaten.

There were two ‘Three’ international friendlies squeezed into a packed schedule that saw Ireland play six times at Aviva Stadium, including the sold-out draw with Denmark in November.

Overall, it was a positive year with some big performances, crucial results, new players introduced, and a lot to look forward to in the new year.

RESULTS
March 23: Gibraltar 0-1 Republic of Ireland (EURO Qualifier)
March 26: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia (EURO Qualifier)
June 7: Denmark 1-1 Republic of Ireland (EURO Qualifier)
June 10: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Gibraltar (EURO Qualifier)
September 5: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Switzerland (EURO Qualifier)
September 10: Republic of Ireland 3-1 Bulgaria (Friendly)
October 12: Georgia 0-0 Republic of Ireland (EURO Qualifier)
October 15: Switzerland 2-0 Republic of Ireland (EURO Qualifier)
November 14: Republic of Ireland 3-1 New Zealand (Friendly)
November 18: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Denmark (EURO Qualifier)

PLAYER STATS

Minutes Played
742 – James McClean
726 – Jeff Hendrick
720 – Shane Duffy, Darren Randolph
686 – Conor Hourihane
644 – Enda Stevens
616 – Seamus Coleman
532 – Glenn Whelan
529 – David McGoldrick
450 – Richard Keogh
315 – John Egan
289 – Alan Browne
281 – Robbie Brady
255 – Callum Robinson
245 – Matt Doherty
180 – Josh Cullen, Kevin Long
178 – Sean Maguire
171 – James Collins
161 – Scott Hogan
155 – Callum O’Dowda
142 – Alan Judge
135 – Ciaran Clark
100 – Mark Travers
94 – Jack Byrne
90 – Cyrus Christie, Lee O’Connor
84 – Ronan Curtis
81 – Aaron Connolly
80 – Kieran O’Hara
63 – Troy Parrott
58 – Derrick Williams
18 – Harry Arter
16 – Aiden O’Brien

Goals Scored
1 – Robbie Brady, Alan Browne, James Collins, Matt Doherty, Shane Duffy, Jeff Hendrick, Conor Hourihane, Kevin Long, Sean Maguire, David McGoldrick, Callum Robinson, Derrick Williams, Joseph Chipolina OG

Clean Sheets
4 – Darren Randolph

Yellow Cards
3 – Enda Stevens
2 – Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy, James McClean, Glenn Whelan
1 – Alan Browne, James Collins, Jeff Hendrick, Conor Hourihane, Alan Judge

Red Cards
1 – Seamus Coleman

KEY STATS

• 8 different players made their senior debuts (Jack Byrne, James Collins, Aaron Connolly, Josh Cullen, Lee O’Connor, Kieran O’Hara, Troy Parrott, and Mark Travers)
• Mick McCarthy has now given 50 different players their senior international debuts over his two spells as Ireland manager
• Seamus Coleman became the first Ireland player to be sent off since Shane Duffy’s dismissal at EURO 2016
• Glenn Whelan is now joint eighth on the all-time appearances list on 91 caps, while Jeff Hendrick broke into the top 50 during the year