{"id":370561,"date":"2026-03-28T23:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T23:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/370561\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T23:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T23:59:16","slug":"heimir-hallgrimsson-hoping-seamus-coleman-will-stick-with-ireland-for-euro-2028-campaign-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/370561\/","title":{"rendered":"Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson hoping S\u00e9amus Coleman will stick with Ireland for Euro 2028 campaign \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e9amus Coleman<\/a>\u2019s future with the Republic of Ireland<\/a> remains uncertain, but manager Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson<\/a> is keen for the veteran to extend his international career into the Euro 2028<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n

There is a possibility that Tuesday night\u2019s friendly against North Macedonia at the Aviva Stadium could be Coleman\u2019s 79th and final appearance for the national side following last Thursday\u2019s World Cup playoff semi-final defeat to the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would need to be his decision,\u201d said Hallgr\u00edmsson. \u201cWith how he played and how he acts within the squad, it would certainly benefit us if he continues, but it is up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coleman was not called upon for Ireland\u2019s opening qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia last September due to a lack of game-time at Everton, but Hallgr\u00edmsson later acknowledged that decision was a mistake given the influence the Donegal man has exerted since being recalled.<\/p>\n

Hallgr\u00edmsson said the pair are yet to discuss Coleman\u2019s future, but added: \u201cThat would be his move first. At the moment he is performing at that level and we benefit from having him. I would not push that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u200a’It’s really hard to take’: Ireland’s penalty heartbreak after early dominance<\/p>\n

Asked whether the 37-year-old could remain involved through to the Euros \u2013 with Ireland well placed to qualify as co-hosts \u2013 Hallgr\u00edmsson indicated he feels Coleman is up to the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody was as energised as him in this camp,\u201d said the Icelander. \u201cJust because of a number, it shouldn\u2019t be a reason why he should stop, if you\u2019re implying he should stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally I do not think age is relevant in the national team. Obviously it is good to have players coming in and it\u2019s now where we start to think about the future. It\u2019s important to bring through younger players, but the future will arrive whether we are ready or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Thursday\u2019s game, Hallgr\u00edmsson compared the defeat to a \u201ccar crash\u201d, stressing the need for the team to quickly get back behind the wheel before doubt sets in.<\/p>\n

That may particularly apply to Finn Azaz and Alan Browne following their misses during the penalty shoot-out, but also for Ryan Manning, whose first-half penalty concession offered the Czechs a way back into the game when Ireland had just gone 2-0 up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is tough when you\u2019re playing on behalf of your nation to miss or give (away) a penalty,\u201d said Hallgrimsson. \u201cBut it is owning that moment, not closing it in. It is just for them as people, it\u2019s tough and you can never put yourself in those shoes.<\/p>\n

\"IrelandIreland players react after losing Thursday’s World Cup playoff semi-final against the Czech Republic on penalties. Photograph: Ryan Byrne\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all different individuals, so how we cope with it is different. I mentioned a car crash; the best thing for them, those who took the penalty, is to ask to take the next penalty in their clubs and just get it over with and move on. It is the same for all of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not going to talk about how we are going to play on Tuesday, but I think both of them (Azaz and Browne) deserve to play at least. They had a good performance and we cannot control what their goalkeeper does. Obviously, it will be good for them to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The squad were given Friday off after returning to Dublin before resuming training on Saturday. Hallgr\u00edmsson has yet to finalise his matchday selection after the exertions of extra-time in Prague.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will see how the players are,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was 120 minutes. S\u00e9amus played 100 minutes, Chieo (Chiedozie Ogbene) played 100 minutes, Robbie Brady played 60 minutes and he has only played about 30 minutes this season. That shows the character of these players, they will give everything for the green shirt. <\/p>\n

\u201cPsychologically, we did well, but we can improve. We have a chance to play again. I know it\u2019s not going to be the same (as a playoff final), but for us to grow, it is brilliant to have a game, and just to have the supporters and the people here. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know they expected a World Cup playoff game, but hopefully they will show their appreciation and support and come and support us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"S\u00e9amus Coleman\u2019s future with the Republic of Ireland remains uncertain, but manager Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson is keen for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4700,61,60,43,1842,48229],"class_list":["post-370561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-heimir-hallgrimsson","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt","tag-seamus-coleman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370561","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=370561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}