Ireland will face off against England at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Saturday, September 7 as part of the 2024/2025 UEFA Nations League.
Saturday's sold-out match will be the first competitive meeting between Ireland and England's men's soccer teams since 1991 when they drew 1-1 at London's Wembley Stadium.
However, there have been four friendly matches in the interim. Most infamous was the February 1995 friendly at Dublin's Landsdowne Road which was abandoned in the 27th minute due to rioting in the stands.
The two teams last played against each other in 2020 - England bested Ireland 3-0 in the friendly.
Ahead of Saturday's match - which has prompted a large Gardaí operation, including the arrival of some British police, in Ireland's capital city - Republic of Ireland's new Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson has named a 23-man squad, which will also play Greece a few days after the English match.
The showdown on Saturday will be Hallgrímsson's first as Ireland's Head Coach.
Tomorrow. ??? pic.twitter.com/3IYcRosiGm
— Ireland Football ⚽️?? (@IrelandFootball) September 6, 2024
Ireland Goalkeepers
- Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
- Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth)
- Max O'Leary (Bristol City)
Ireland Defenders
- Seamus Coleman (Everton)
- Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
- Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town)
- Nathan Collins (Brentford)
- Jake O'Brien (Everton)
- Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest)
- Liam Scales (Celtic)
- Callum O'Dowda (Cardiff City)
- Robbie Brady (Preston North End)
Ireland Midfielders
- Will Smallbone (Southampton)
- Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion)
- Alan Browne (Sunderland)
- Jason Knight (Bristol City)
- Kasey McAteer (Leicester City)
Ireland Attackers
- Adam Idah (Celtic)
- Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion)
- Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town)
- Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town)
- Callum Robinson (Cardiff City)
- Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar)
An old rivalry renewed.
Your Ireland squad to face England & Greece ?? pic.twitter.com/XAirbxn34x
— Ireland Football ⚽️?? (@IrelandFootball) August 29, 2024
Are there any Irish players for England?
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice both previously lined out for Ireland (thanks to their Irish grandparents) despite being born in England.
Grealish impressed for Ireland at underage level, winning the under-21 player of the year award in 2015, but switched allegiances to England later in the year.
There was some hope that Grealish would choose Ireland over England given that he had played Gaelic football for John Mitchel's Hurling and Camogie Club in Warwickshire until he was 14. He had also rejected several approaches from England in the past.
However, speaking ahead of the Euro 2020 championships, Grealish said he made the switch because he felt English.
"Obviously, I am English, my parents are born in England… I was obviously born in England, so I feel English. I changed to England and since then I’ve never looked back," Grealish said ahead of this summer's championships.
Meanwhile, Rice very controversially switched allegiances to England in 2019 after making three appearances for the senior Ireland team a year previously. He had qualified to play for Ireland through his Irish grandparents, and reportedly grew up in a very Irish household.
FIFA allowed Rice to make the switch as he had not played in a competitive international, allowing Rice to represent his country of birth.
The nature of Rice's move to England left a sour taste for many Irish soccer fans and former players, who believed that the talented youngster was a shining light in Ireland's youth set-up.
Rice had belted out Amhrán na bhFiann ahead of his Ireland debut against Turkey in March 2018 and said that was "no decision" to be made when questioned about his international future and reported interest from England.
However, Rice would later reject a call-up from then-Ireland manager Martin O'Neill for a competitive game against Wales in September 2018 that would have secured his international future with Ireland.
Instead, Rice took several months to think about his international career before eventually opting to represent England in early 2019. He later said his mind was made up when he watched England's run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice. (Getty Images)
Elsewhere on the English squad, Harry Kane - whose father is from Co Galway - was interested in his younger years in representing Ireland, but was reportedly overlooked by Irish scouts.
Harry Kane in 2022. (Getty Images)
Harry Maguire, meanwhile, qualifies for both Ireland and Northern Ireland through his grandparents but has never been linked with playing for the Boys in Green.
How to watch Ireland v England
The Football Association of Ireland announced earlier this week that tickets for Saturday's match are officially out - so if you don't already have tickets, you'll most likely be tuning in to watch.
In Ireland, viewers can watch Ireland v England on RTÉ Ireland or Virgin Media Ireland. It will also be on the RTÉ Player.
In Northern Ireland, fans can tune in on BBC Northern Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, you can watch on ITV or S4C.
In the US, viewers can head to Fox Sports USA English, fubo TV, or TelevisaUnivision.
???? ????? ???️
Our UEFA Nations League opener against England is now officially sold out!
Saturday evening can’t come soon enough ?? pic.twitter.com/b8XPZb8nK9
— Ireland Football ⚽️?? (@IrelandFootball) September 3, 2024
What time does Ireland v England begin?
Kick-off for the Ireland v England UEFA Nations League match is at 5 pm Irish time. If you're heading to the Aviva, gates are due to open at 3:30 pm.
The kick-off time for the Ireland v England fixture has now been confirmed ?
The upcoming UEFA Nations League match will kick-off at 5pm on Saturday, September 7 at the Aviva Stadium ??
07/09 - Ireland v England, KO 5pm, Aviva Stadium
Can't wait! ?
— Ireland Football ⚽️?? (@IrelandFootball) August 8, 2024
Who is expected to win between Ireland and England?
"England should win, there’s no doubt about that whatsoever," Paddy Power said on Friday.
Of the 17 times Ireland has met England, the Boys in Green have only won twice - once in a friendly in September 1949 and again during the Euro 1988.
However, of those 17 meetings, nine have been draws. England has won six times against Ireland.
A month today, Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland will face England at the Aviva Stadium in our UEFA Nations League opener ??
It won't be the first time we've opened a campaign against our neighbours ?⚽️
— Ireland Football ⚽️?? (@IrelandFootball) August 7, 2024
What is the UEFA Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League was "devised to minimize meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive encounters with equally ranked teams."
Teams from all the European associations compete in a league structure featuring promotion and relegation.
In the first edition of the tournament, they were divided into 12 teams in League A, 12 in League B, 14 in League C and 16 in League D. However, the 2024/25 edition has 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C, with six in League D.
The Republic of Ireland was drawn into Group 2 of League B alongside England, Finland, and Greece earlier this year.
The league phase games will be played in autumn 2024, with the finals (to be staged by one of the four nations that qualify) set to take place in June 2025.
Who does Ireland play next in the UEFA Nations League?
Ireland will play Greece on September 10, again at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.
In October, Ireland will play Finland in Helsinki on the 10th, and will play Greece again on the 13th in Piraeus.
In November, Ireland will play Finland at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on the 14th, and will play England again on the 17th in London.
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