The Republic of Ireland round off their 2025/26 campaign with a season-ending friendly against Canada and you’d have to believe that players, management and the FAI will be grateful to be addressing matters on the pitch.
World Cup hosts Canada are using their clash with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side as a final tune-up before the competition begins in earnest next Friday when they take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Montreal.
For Ireland, it’s a case of ‘here’s what you could have won’ as they get to play their part in sending off the Canucks to football’s biggest tournament, and they’ll be hoping to at least take on the role of party-poopers at the sold-out Saputo Stadium.
Hallgrímsson, meanwhile, will be hoping that some actual football can act as a break from the growing pressure that’s been piled on him and his players over the Nations League games with Israel.
With autumn’s Nations League double-header against Israel taking up all the oxygen in the room, Hallgrímsson was again fielding questions about the controversial fixtures in his pre-match press conference.
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson on ‘respecting a decision taken by higher footballing authorities’ if a neutral venue for Ireland v Israel is proposed #rtesport #rtenews pic.twitter.com/qccTbQZspI
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 4, 2026
The friendly with Canada is Ireland’s last game until the Nations League gets underway with games against Kosovo and away to Israel in September and while issues surrounding the autumn internationals will come to the fore again over the coming months, for now, Hallgrímsson is looking to focus on the football.
His side come into this game off the back of last week’s win against Qatar in Dublin when Nathan Collins’ goal secured the win to extend their unbeaten run to seven games.
The Ireland boss has drafted in several new faces to his squad as he looks to add depth and youth ahead of the Nations League with young Tottenham striker Mason Melia called up along with four League of Ireland players.
Shamrock Rovers duo Ed McGinty and Adam Brennan are in the reckoning to get minutes against Canada as are midfielder Dawson Devoy and Cork City goalkeeper Conor Brann.
Lecce defender Corrie Ndaba, Newcastle United’s Alex Murphy, Middlesbrough midfielder Alex Gilbert, Tondela’s Joe Hodge and Melia have all be involved in the current camp and having seen them train over the last week, Hallgrímsson is ready to give some of them their chance.
Joe Hodge and Jayson Molumby in training
“A week of training is quite a lot in how we are working so we are not afraid of playing some of the players,” he said.
“The difference from this game and Qatar is that we’ve had the younger guys longer in training, on meetings and on the sessions to try and understand what we want. We would have been a little scared of doing it against Qatar.”
Like Ireland, Canada are in decent form coming into the game unbeaten in their last six matches, having kept five clean sheets in that time.
Manager Jesse Marsch has built his side’s recent success on a solid defence and with the World Cup just days away, he’s likely to name his first choice eleven for a confidence boosting performance in Montreal.
Cyle Larin and Jonathan David look set to lead the line up front, with Juventus forward David, the star man, in a rich vein of form for his nation. Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies remains out with a hamstring injury, so Richie Laryea will fill in.
Maxime Crepeau will start in goal, having been confirmed as Canada’s first choice goalkeeper for the World Cup, a redemption for a player who missed the 2022 tournament when he broke his leg two weeks before the start.
Canada have made much of the fact that game is one of celebration and a big send-off for their team before the World Cup and Marsch expects a big performance.
Jesse Marsch
“Playing our final match in Montreal, in front of Canadian supporters, gives us the chance to feel the full energy of the country behind us before we head into the World Cup,” the Canada boss said.
“This is a moment for all of us to come together, stand behind the team, and send us into the World Cup knowing the entire nation is with us.”
Hallgrímsson expects a tough game from the hosts, a side who he believes would be at the World Cup whether or not they were hosting it. However, he insists that he’s sending his side out to win.
“That’s how we approach every match,” he said. “Obviously our approach would be different in every game, given the players we have and the opponents we are playing. We think we have what it takes to win.
“I know it’s big task and they want to prove themselves to their coach that they should be starters in their first World Cup match. This is a farewell for them into that tournament so there will be a big crowd supporting them.
“It is a challenge for us definitely, but we think we have what it takes to get a result.”
Watch Canada v Republic of Ireland in the early hours of Saturday morning (12.15am) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app