![\"Alan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5012477_6_articleinlinemobile_1938897.jpg\" "\\"Alan")
Alan Browne misses a penalty against Slovakia in 2020, the last time Ireland were involved in a shotout. Pic: Vid Ponikvar\/Sportsfile<\/p>\nHeimir Hallgr\u00edmsson has revealed his Ireland players won\u2019t be practicing penalties despite Thursday\u2019s World Cup playoff semi-final in Czechia being potentially decided by a shootout.<\/p>\n
All the Icelander will require when the squad holds their first training session on Monday is honesty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone is not ready to take a penalty, I would like to know it now,\u201d said the man who extended his contract in midweek to cover the Euro 2028 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no shame in that. If you don\u2019t like to take a penalty, I wouldn’t like to know that when it comes around to the penalties.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally we will form a list, from one to 23. We will rank in our mind and then we might tweak one or two, because when it happens and everybody is so high it can be difficult to focus on these moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will always have a list beforehand and then in game, might say maybe this one should be higher or lower. But it is always good to be prepared until the death.\u201d Both the semi and final of the playoff path will be decided on the night, through extra-time and penalties if required. Should Ireland continue their hot streak by winning a fourth game in a row in Prague, they will host either Denmark or North Macedonia on Tuesday week for a place at the summer World Cup in North America.<\/p>\n
The last time Ireland were involved in a shootout, back in October 2020 away to Slovakia, misses by Alan Browne and Matt Doherty proved costly.<\/p>\n
Alan Browne misses a penalty against Slovakia in 2020, the last time Ireland were involved in a shotout. Pic: Vid Ponikvar\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
Stephen Kenny\u2019s reign was in its infancy then and his successor trotted across the Abbotstown campus last week to visit the current St Patrick\u2019s Athletic boss.<\/p>\n
Hallgr\u00edmsson didn\u2019t endure the nervous ritual of penalties during his previous international stints at his homeland and Jamaica.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a good talk with Stephen, sat and picked his brain about what advice he would give me about this penalty shootout. He shared that experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not so sure that training penalties would be such an asset, especially when you look at the short time we have. Other things are more important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the playoff win was secured in dramatic fashion last November, Hallgr\u00edmsson spoke of the favourable position away fans have compared to Ireland\u2019s in Hungary.<\/p>\n
It has now transpired that if Ireland progress to the final on March 31 at Lansdowne Road, the away team will only have 500 fans inside the 51,000 area.<\/p>\n
Hence they\u2019ll be moved from the traditional area behind the goal to a corner of the venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should look at everything; every possible advantage to favour us in these moments,\u201d said the chief.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it comes to a penalty shootout, for example in our home stadium but it looks like an away game, that would be shocking.<\/p>\n
![\"Pic:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5012483_6_articleinlinemobile_1938868.jpg\" "\\"Pic:")
Pic: Stephen McCarthy\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is something in the future the FAI have promised to look at but the ownership of the stadium is by IRFU too. Security routes need to change for this to happen but in future I would like the away fans further up in the stand; as far away as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hallgr\u00edmsson has managed teams in major tournaments, the World Cup, Euros and AFCON.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d visualised another this summer even before the campaign began last September. Between the camp in early May in Spain and the friendlies against Qatar and Canada, Hallgr\u00edmsson has a protracted spell of unity in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest advantage for us as a team if we qualify for the World Cup is that we\u2019ll stay together all of May, all of June and hopefully half of July,\u201d explained the 58-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s two-and-a-half months together and that is the equivalent of two years of FIFA windows in one block.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust imagine what we can do with the team in two years of Fifa windows. There\u2019d be connections between players, knowing characters and doing things tactically.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is always easier to qualify next because you have such a long period working with the players. We can start thinking about fitness because we are essentially club coaches for two months.<\/p>\n
\u201cQualification just gives us as a team so much of a chance to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson has revealed his Ireland players won\u2019t be practicing penalties despite Thursday\u2019s World Cup playoff semi-final in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1113,61,60,43,1842],"class_list":["post-359217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-fai","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}