Ireland v Qatar, 7.45pm
Ireland: Kelleher; Coleman, Collins (capt), O’Shea, O’Brien, Scales; Molumby, McGrath; Ogbene, Parrott, Moylan
Ireland team is out: Kelleher; Coleman, Collins (capt), O’Shea, O’Brien, Scales; Molumby, McGrath; Ogbene, Parrott, Moylan.
Your Ireland starting XI to face Qatar 🇮🇪
A strong selection from Heimir Hallgrímsson with Nathan Collins captaining the side©️
Kick-off at the Aviva is 7:45pm 🏟️☘️ pic.twitter.com/RDT3BKFyMk
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) May 28, 2026
So Moylan gets a chance after scoring a hat-trick against Grenada, McGrath is back in the starting team after some time away after a good season for Hibernian.
Our youngest 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 Men’s National Team debutants 🇮🇪🧢
Could we see a new addition to the list tonight? pic.twitter.com/PLFl8JOs1R
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) May 28, 2026
Jaden Umeh could joint the list of 18-year-olds playing for Ireland if he gets a chance tonight.
Expect an experienced side tonight against Qatar, according to Heimir Hallgrímsson: “This is the only day we have a proper training session with everybody ready and fit, so we will go for experience tomorrow. We’ll start with the ones that have been with us before. That gives us another week to prepare the younger guys for the Canada match.
“Hopefully we can give some of them some time on the pitch [against Qatar], but given this is a strong opponent going for the World Cup, I know we need experience.”
More on that here, and also on Séamus Coleman:
“The official slogan of Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup was “Expect Amazing”. Perhaps wisely, the FAI has adopted a more low-key approach to marketing Thursday’s friendly,” writes James McDermott about the opposition tonight. Last time they came to Dublin, Callum Robinson scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win.
[ Ireland meet Qatar somewhere between apathy and amazementOpens in new window ]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Republic of Ireland’s friendly game against Qatar at the Aviva Stadium. Kickoff is at 7.45pm. It’s more than two months now since Ireland’s disappointment of failing to make the World Cup, after penalty shootout heartbreak in Prague in a playoff against the Czech Republic.
Ireland face their first official match since then, having played an unofficial game against Grenada when at a training camp in Spain two weeks ago, winning 5-0. They will face a Qatar side who have qualified for the World Cup, in a group with Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland. It will be a chance for some new players to get camps, but also a few of the main stars may play like Troy Parrott, Caoimhín Kelleher and Nathan Collins.
We will update you with the starting XI when it comes available.