Eoin Harrington reporting from Ireland camp at FAI HQ
Ireland were dealt a blow on Monday morning, as confirmation arrived at last that Evan Ferguson will miss the first game of this camp against Portugal on Thursday.
Ferguson was always in a race against time to be fit for this camp. The major doubts about his fitness appeared to have been confirmed on Sunday evening when he was absent for Roma against Udinese, and manager Gian Piero Gasperini publicly hinted that there were lingering concerns about when he would be back in action.
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The 21-year-old has not travelled to Dublin with the rest of the squad for the start of camp, remaining in Rome to continue his rehabilitation in the hope of returning for Budapest on Sunday.
Speaking to the Irish media on Monday, Ireland assistant head coach John O’Shea said that the management team were hopeful Ferguson would be in the mix to face Hungary.
“Listen, let’s wait and see,” O’Shea said when asked if Ferguson could return for Sunday’s game.
Obviously, we were hopeful for both games, but the Portugal one is obviously going to come around too quick.
We were fully aware it was going to be a close call, like the boss spoke about in terms of readying the squad on what was going to be needed if Evan didn’t make it.
Obviously, Johnny’s coming in full of confidence on the back of that.
But, let’s wait and see. Possibilities
That Kenny was absent from the squad to begin with remains a somewhat confusing call, given the doubts that surrounded Ferguson’s fitness.
6 September 2025; The jersey of Johnny Kenny in the Republic of Ireland dressingroom before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F qualifying match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The in-form Celtic striker was on standby and did in fact arrive to Dublin on Sunday night, but the decision not to call him up initially looks stranger with the benefit of hindsight.
“That’s the discussion when you’re looking at strikers and players coming under consideration,” O’Shea said when asked whether Kenny had been considered ahead of last week’s squad announcement.
“Johnny is on a run of goals, but you must think of how Evan, Adam and Troy have performed for us. That’s the competition for places, simple as that. Johnny has now got his chance.”
Kenny has scored four in four games for Celtic since Martin O’Neill’s arrival as interim manager, with O’Shea crediting his former boss with getting the best out of the Irish youngster.
“I was watching enough of Celtic anyway because of the boys there,” O’Shea joked.
“Martin has a great track record of giving that younger player, young, hungry players a chance. Obviously, if Johnny’s doing everything right in training and getting the chance to show it in a game, it’s brilliant to see. He’s obviously in a good bit of form.”
There was plenty to dissect at Monday’s media day, as O’Shea and captain Nathan Collins addressed the assembled media.
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John O’Shea and Nathan Collins look ahead to Ireland v Portugal
Another rogue call for this Ireland squad saw the inclusion of New York City FC wingback Kevin O’Toole.
The 26-year-old, eligible through his Dublin-born grandparent, could well play a big part alongside captain Nathan Collins in the defence, with Robbie Brady, Callum O’Dowda, Ryan Manning, and Josh Honohan all absent down the left flank.
“We’ve been aware of Kevin for a good while now,” John O’Shea explained on Monday.
“He got a good introduction from everyone. The boys who played on Sunday are on recovery. Kevin got a good flavour. We managed to get him a few 1 v 1s against Mikey Johnson. Mikey gave him a good test.
“Let’s see over the next few days because today was just a short session.”
Bar Armenia pulling off another shock against Hungary, Ireland will almost certainly have to get a result against Portugal on Thursday, and Nathan Collins knows that home advantage will be pivotal if they are to pull that off.
The faith we have in each other means we believe its possible to get a win against a big nation.
We’ve come close in a few games, not quite getting over the line, but the belief in this squad is that we have it to get that big result. Why can’t there be one here?
[The Ireland fans] have a massive effect on us and how we perform in the energy they can give us. We have to help them with that, we have to give them something to support and cheer about.
It works both ways but, when we’re both at it and both pushing the same way, it’s hard to stop us.
Memories from years past of famous results against the Netherlands and Germany at qualification pinch points will no doubt be on the minds of Ireland fans arriving to the Aviva Stadium on Thursday evening.
11 October 2025; Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher celebrates with teammates Nathan Collins, right, and Jake O’Brien, centre, after saving the penalty of Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F qualifying match between Portugal and Republic of Ireland at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
After securing a massive Premier League against Newcastle on Sunday, Collins spoke about his hope for Brentford to be seen as a tough team to play against for opposition. It is something he hopes to recreate with Ireland.
“I think Ireland always has seemed like that,” Collins said.
I think not many teams want to come to the Aviva and go, ‘We’re really up for this, we really want to fight for this.’ That’s where we gain our motivation, that teams are looking at us and going, ‘Ah, not Ireland away.’
I think that builds confidence, it builds motivation, and you just have to bring it onto the pitch then. You want to create that kind of fortress at home and make it tough for teams coming here.
Ireland will certainly need a massive performance if they are to upset one of Europe’s most feared teams on Thursday evening.
The kick-off times for Thursday’s game produce an intriguing dilemma for John O’Shea and the Ireland coaching team.
The Boys in Green face Portugal in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday at 7:45pm, by which time Armenia’s game against Hungary will have concluded. The result of that game will determine what Ireland need to stay in contention going into Sunday’s crunch clash in Budapest.
“It’ll have a significance. But in terms of how we’ll approach the game, it won’t have too much initially,” O’Shea said when asked how Ireland would approach this unusual situation.
“We have to have the same concentration and discipline in our performance against, obviously, a very attack-minded Portuguese team.
“Ultimately, yes [it will change the permutations for Ireland]. But those are ifs and buts beforehand.
“We have to focus on what we have to do against Portugal to get that result we need. As you say, we’ll know a bit more information beforehand, but it’s not going to change too much initially.”
Thursday’s game is live on RTÉ 2, with all tickets sold out.
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