Ireland 0 North Macedonia 0<\/p>\n
Ireland: Kelleher (Travers 61); Coleman (Abankwah 61) (Browne 84), Egan (O\u2019Brien 72), Collins (capt), O\u2019Shea, Scales; Molumby (Lawal 61), Knight; Azaz (Vale 61), Ogbene (Kenny 84), Parrott (Idah 72)<\/p>\n
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Zajkov, Velkovski, Fetai; Churlinov, Kostadinov, Alimi, Herera; Bardhi (capt), Elmas, Rastoder<\/p>\n
89 mins: Very high boot by Scales, might have been looking at a red card or yellow at least, if it wasn\u2019t in the dying moments of a friendly.<\/p>\n
87 mins: Chance for North Macedonia, Herera put in a terrific ball and O\u2019Shea just enough to hold off Ristovski.<\/p>\n
84 mins: Lawal shows a sharp touch again, Idah does poorly and doesn\u2019t connect with Vale.<\/p>\n
A nasty collision between Abankwah and Herera causes a stoppage. Sadly Abankwah is hobbling off on his debut, which you don\u2019t like to see.<\/p>\n
Two more subs – Alan Browne and Johnny Kenny on for Abankwah and Ogbene.<\/p>\n
78 mins: O\u2019Shea with a fine ball to Idah in behind but everything too slow to make a chance out of it, and ends up all the way back to O\u2019Shea again.<\/p>\n
72 mins: Jake O\u2019Brien is on for John Egan. Adam Idah comes on for Troy Parrott, no goal sadly for Parrott to keep the run going.<\/p>\n
Goal for Denmark, Joachim Andersen makes it 1-1 in Prague, the Fulham player making it interesting!<\/p>\n
Kosovo 0-1 Turkey (Akturkoglu 53). The Turks take the lead and are heading to the World Cup as it stands.<\/p>\n
68 mins: Sub Stankovski does well to win a free-kick but it was a shocking free then and Ireland had a chance to counter. Beautiful turn around the defender by Lawal but then make the wrong decision for the final ball.<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s attendance is 39,560, according to the announcer.<\/p>\n
65 mins: Ogbene does very well twisting and turning to win corner. Vale on corners and it\u2019s a good first one, keeper just punches away then puts in the mixer again, but North Macedonia survive. They\u2019ve made some seven or eight changes themselves, I\u2019ll leave you to the Uefa website if you want to see each one of those.<\/p>\n
61 mins: Quick corner taken and they work it to Knight, who takes a shot just outside the box and deflected wide.<\/p>\n
Irish subs: Vale on for Azaz, Travers on for Kelleher, Coleman on for Abankwah, Lawal on for Molumby.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in World Cup playoffs it\u2019s Sweden 2 Poland 2 – Swiderski takes advantage of a defensive mistake.<\/p>\n
58 mins: Again Azaz finds Parrott with a little pass, and Parrott is just tackled before he can get a shot away. Subs are being prepared.<\/p>\n
56 mins: Chance for Azaz, who has had a good start to this half, has the confidence to take on a shot from outside the box and curls it just wide.<\/p>\n
54 mins: Off the post! Just won\u2019t go in for Parrott, great play by Azaz, composed on the ball, finds Coleman who gives it back to him and then first touch pass finds Parrott who smashes it against the cross after a fine shot.<\/p>\n
51 mins: Ireland have the ball around the box for almost a minute, trying to find a way through a cramped North Macedonian defence, Parrott and Azaz in particular, but can\u2019t find a way to get a shot away.<\/p>\n
48 mins: Surprisingly no subs for Ireland at half-time. A few big hits on Irish players as the North Macedonians raise the physicality, Ogbene and Knight suffering.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the World Cup playoff finals, Zalewski equalised for the Poles against Sweden with a low curler but Sweden go back in front on the brink of half-time as Lagerbielke rose to head home.<\/p>\n
Sweden 2 Poland 1<\/p>\n
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Italy 1<\/p>\n
Czech Republic 1 Denmark 0<\/p>\n
Kosovo 0 Turkey 0<\/p>\n
Goal disallowed for Parrott! Been an eventful few minutes for Ireland\u2019s star striker and he could have been onside there but there\u2019s no VAR tonight. Linesman gives offside, but it was a lovely finish by Parrott with a little dink over the keeper. Shame.<\/p>\n
Half-time: Ireland 0 North Macedonia 0<\/p>\n
A fairly drab game came to a bit of life in the latter stages with some good pieces of play by Ireland but couldn\u2019t get the goal.<\/p>\n
44 mins: Parrott is back walking, albeit a little gingerly and is back on the pitch. Ogbene does well to get it to Coleman and then Azaz to Coleman again. Parrott was offside, but he hits a brilliant lob over the keeper and laughs, was never going to count but worth the practice anyway.<\/p>\n
41 mins: Best chance of the match for Parrott! Azaz with a ball in behind and Parrott competes with Velkovski who makes a mess of it, Parrott has a clear shot but he kicks it well wide.<\/p>\n
Then a few moments later he has another chance but unfortunately a strong tackle from the North Macedonian defender Fetai sees Parrott holding his knee. Oh dear.<\/p>\n
37 mins: Nice pass by Molumby into Coleman in the box and he was hoping to get it to Parrott but cut out. Then a half-chance for Parrott, great through ball by Knight, Parrott turns past two players and then swipes well wide unfortunately.<\/p>\n
34 mins: Hopeful ball by Knight in the air was taken down brilliantly by Ogbene who made an opportunity out of nothing and nearly got the better of the defender but out for a corner. Azaz\u2019s corner goes back post to Scales but nothing comes of it.<\/p>\n
Goal for Sweden! Elanga puts the Swedes a goal up against Poland, 1-0.<\/p>\n
Czech Republic 1 Denmark 0<\/p>\n
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Italy 1<\/p>\n
Sweden 1 Poland 0<\/p>\n
Kosovo 0 Turkey 0<\/p>\n
27 mins: Should have been a penalty? Chance for Ireland as Ogbene picks the ball up from a mistake on possession, Azaz takes the ball brilliantly and dribbles past a few players and then gets taken out of it inside the box it seems, but the referee ruled it was outside. Azaz\u2019s free-kick is well over, he\u2019ll be disappointed with that.<\/p>\n
24 mins: O\u2019Shea wins the ball in midfield and Azaz and Parrott start the counter but a bit too slow and everyone gets back. Eventually Egan plays a cross and Parrott heads from the edge of the box, too far out though and the keeper saved it fairly handily.<\/p>\n
21 mins: Ogbene gives away a clumsy foul on Herera just outside his own box. Bardhi takes it and deflected, Kelleher has to make a comfortable save, but out for a corner. From the corner, Bardhi tries a volley from outside the box but hits it way over.<\/p>\n
17 mins: Ogbene has a shot on goal after another nice pass by O\u2019Shea, Coleman competes for it and comes down to Ogbene, whose shot is blocked. Parrott is struggling to get in the game and often being double marked.<\/p>\n
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Italy 1 – Moise Kean gives Italy the lead!<\/p>\n
14 mins: Some sideways passing by Ireland for a few minutes before Collins plays a long ball to Coleman, and it shows how quiet it is in the stadium that you can hear Coleman\u2019s complaints clearly about his team\u2019s lethargy when taking a throw-in.<\/p>\n
11 mins: Nice interplay between Ogbene and Coleman but Ogbene\u2019s cross is blocked out for a corner. Corner goes to the back post and O\u2019Shea puts in a teasing cross to the back post, which Egan can\u2019t control with the header and it goes wide.<\/p>\n
Czech Republic lead 1-0 against Denmark!<\/p>\n
Sulc, who was threatening against Ireland, gets an early goal in Prague against the Danes.<\/p>\n
5 mins: Molumby plays a ball in behind on the wing, but the cross is blocked. Ireland with plenty of possession early doors, but no chances yet. Crowd is dead so far, understandably.<\/p>\n
2 mins: Scales with an early cross is headed away as Ireland start positively. Dara O\u2019Shea then plays a long ball over the top to Ogbene but collected by the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n
The teams are out for the national anthems. A fairly deflated atmosphere and some empty seats as expected.<\/p>\n
Will it be Coleman\u2019s final Ireland game tonight?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s Hallgr\u00edmsson before the game:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to pay back the support & love they have given us\u201d \ud83d\udc9a\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea<\/p>\n
Heimir gives his thoughts ahead of tonight\u2019s clash with North Macedonia \ud83c\udfdf\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/H1jAC5ag8l<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ireland Football \u26bd\ufe0f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea (@IrelandFootball) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Mary Hannigan has five reason why you should attend this match (we\u2019d hope you\u2019ve made this decision by now!) which also applies to watching it:<\/p>\n 1 If you\u2019re so dejected after last Thursday that you never want to see a football game again, imagine how the players feel. You can be sure both the Irish and North Macedonia squads and their management would prefer to undergo a colonic irrigation procedure than fulfil this fixture. So, show some solidarity: turn up. Remember, when you gave your heart to Ireland, you vowed to have and to hold them from that day forward, for better or for worse. This is a measure of your loyalty. If you don\u2019t turn up, you\u2019ll have had a North Macedonia.<\/p>\n 2 As Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson said on Saturday of this game, \u201cit\u2019s a bit like being involved in a car crash \u2013 the best thing is to start driving again\u201d. That is sound advice. So dust yourself down and get back on the horse.<\/p>\n 3 It is said by people who know these things that Dursey Island off the Beara Peninsula in Cork is the farthest point from the Aviva Stadium in Ireland (330km). If that sounds like a bit a haul if you live there and have a ticket for the game, spare a thought for North Macedonia \u2013 Skopje is 3,067km from Dublin and, unless they have a direct charter flight, it could take the squad anything up to six hours to get here. If they can make that effort, so can you.<\/p>\n 4 Fitness permitting, S\u00e9amus Coleman might be making his final appearance for Ireland. Might is the key word here. Hallgr\u00edmsson has said he hopes the Donegal man will stay on for the Euro 2028 campaign. That seems a bit unlikely, though, not least because his Everton contract is up at the end of the season. So, on the off chance that this will indeed be his last hurrah in an Irish shirt, the very least he deserves is a sizeable crowd to applaud him off the pitch and thank him for everything. He did the State some service, that lad.<\/p>\n 5 What else would you be doing on a Tuesday night?<\/p>\n [\u00a0Now for North Macedonia: Why you should go to Ireland\u2019s least enticing home friendly everOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n The teams are out:<\/p>\n Ireland: Kelleher; Coleman, Egan, Collins (capt), O\u2019Shea, Scales; Molumby, Knight; Azaz, Ogbene, Parrott<\/p>\n North Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Zajkov, Velkovski, Fetai; Churlinov, Kostadinov, Alimi, Herera; Bardhi (capt), Elmas, Rastoder<\/p>\n Your Ireland team to face North Macedonia \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea<\/p>\n Liam Scales & John Egan come into the side as we look to end the week on a positive note \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n Kick-off is just 90 minutes away \ud83c\udfdf\ufe0f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea pic.twitter.com\/E6rJfocvi6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ireland Football \u26bd\ufe0f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea (@IrelandFootball) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n We will also keep an eye on the more competitive games in Europe tonight, the World Cup playoff finals, including Czech Republic against Denmark. They all kick off at 7.45pm too.<\/p>\n Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy (Zenica)<\/p>\n Sweden v Poland (Solna)<\/p>\n Kosovo v T\u00fcrkiye (Pristina)<\/p>\n Czech Republic v Denmark (Prague)<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ireland under-21s have scored a late winner to beat Kazakhstan away from home, Oisin Gallagher scoring in the 89th minute to win 1-0.<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Republic of Ireland<\/a>\u2019s friendly game against North Macedonia at the Aviva Stadium, kick-off is at 7.45pm. Let\u2019s face it, this is not the game we wanted to see, we wanted a packed stadium to play Denmark in a playoff final for the World Cup. Ireland gave up a 2-0 lead in Prague against the Czech Republic<\/a>, lost on penalties and the rest is history. Instead, Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson<\/a>\u2019s side play North Macedonia in a friendly.<\/p>\n It is not the easiest game ever to hype up, but there is a certain intrigue to it, if Ireland can keep up their overall good recent form under Hallgr\u00edmsson (unbeaten in the past four games) when the pressure is off, and if it is to be Coleman\u2019s final game in an Irish shirt, many will want to pay tribute to one of Ireland\u2019s greatest full-backs. Some fringe players may get a run out as they build towards having a strong Nations League campaign in the autumn.<\/p>\n