International Soccer

Ryan Giggs challenges Wales to show they can compete against Ireland without Gareth Bale 

RYAN Giggs has challenged his Wales players to show they can compete without their talisman Gareth Bale, starting with Tuesday's Nations League qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Liverpool's injury worries increase after Virgil van Dijk is sent home from international duty 

Virgil van Dijk has added to Liverpool’s mounting injury problem and has returned from international duty early, along with Mohamed Salah.

FA condemn 'unacceptable' England fans causing trouble in Seville 

The Football Association has condemned those responsible for the disorder in Seville on Sunday night ahead of England's Nations League match against Spain.

Martin O'Neill responds to Thomas Delaney's criticism of Ireland's 'primitive' style and rules Callum O'Dowda out of Wales test 

Martin O'Neill says that Denmark midfielder Thomas Delaney should think of how his own country is...

Ryan Giggs calls for a response from depleted Wales squad ahead of Ireland re-match 

Wales boss Ryan Giggs has has demanded a positive response from his depleted hit squad after last Thursday's 4-1 hammering at the hands of a...

Wales' Aaron Ramsey to miss Ireland clash due to family reasons 

Aaron Ramsey has withdrawn from Wales' squad ahead of their Nations League encounter against Ireland on Tuesday because of family reasons.

'I think it’s disgraceful behaviour really' - Ian Wright slams Kyle Lafferty's Northern Ireland withdrawal 

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has slammed the manner of Kyle Lafferty's decision to withdraw from the...

'That’s what they’re paid to do, to be negative' - Cyrus Christie hits back at Alan Shearer over Match Of The Day criticism 

Cyrus Christie insists that he will not let negative comments get into his head and damage his game.

Bore draw a hollow form of progress as old failings linger 

Within a minute of the final whistle on Saturday evening, the Aviva was already starting to empty out.

O'Neill cites impact of Coleman absence in response to Bale injury boost 

No Christian Eriksen, and now no Gareth Bale.

McLeish ready for two 'cup finals' after latest home loss 

Alex McLeish insists he will turn it around for Scotland in two "cup finals" next month despite ending a difficult week with a 3-1 defeat by Portugal at Hampden Park.

'Clinical' Parrott bags hat-trick to keep U-19s on upward curve 

Coach Tom Mohan hailed 'clinical' hat-trick hero Troy Parrott after his second-half goals gave the Republic of Ireland another victory in the UEFA U-19 Championship qualifying round in City Calling...

Gibraltar teach Armenia lesson after gaffe 

Gibraltar won a competitive international for the first time with a 1-0 Nations League victory over Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday - after being mistaken for Liechtenstein.

Comment: Any sense of joy utterly extinguished in limp from chaos to stasis 

From unremitting chaos off the field to unrepentant stasis on it.

'The conversation with Roy stays between me and Roy' - Harry Arter is back in harness four months after Keane spat 

On a night touted as a catharsis of sorts, Harry Arter stayed faithful to the theme, pausing in...

Comment: Failure to beat Wales won't be the end for O'Neill - but it will make him a zombie manager of a zombie team 

Tomorrow night is Martin O'Neill's moment of truth as Republic of Ireland manager. If his team beat...

Arsenal Laurent Koscielny announces international retirement with dig at France manager Didier Deschamps 

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has announced the end of his international career with France and criticised World Cup-winning boss Didier Deschamps.

Ireland's Nations League task gets a little easier as Gareth Bale ruled out of Wales visit 

WALES have confirmed that Gareth Bale will not travel to Dublin for Tuesday's nations League game against the Republic of Ireland.

'The last time I played there I was about 14' - Cyrus Christie sums up unusual switch to midfield 

Cyrus Christie has revealed that the 0-0 draw against Denmark was the first time he played in midfield in over ten years.

'My sisters probably did the majority of the votes!' - Matt Doherty taking Player of the Month award in his stride 

Matt Doherty is taking his rise to prominence in his stride after finally making his first start for Ireland.

'It just kills the support, it kills the crowd' - Kevin Kilbane picks out one problem with Ireland performance 

Kevin Kilbane says that Ireland paid Denmark too much respect by sitting too deep in the goalless UEFA Nations League tie at the Aviva Stadium.

'It's against the rules of football' - Denmark manager lashes out at Ireland over Jeff Hendrick incident 

DANISH manager accused Ireland of transgressing the "rules of football" after the most controversial incident of an otherwise dull scoreless draw.

Damp squib buys O'Neill time as defence holds firm in the rain 

Ireland's Nations League hopes were all but extinguished in the pouring rain last night but the reign of Martin O'Neill survives. A dreadfully dull goalless draw was not what O'Neill wanted last...

England change tack in pursuit of success 

It is almost a year since Gareth Southgate made the change that would launch England's Russia 2018 adventure - the 3-5-2 formation that he staked the team's World Cup progress on. Now the time has...

Comment: Relief at drab Denmark draw tells us how far Ireland have fallen 

Like all draws, this one posed the old glass-half-empty versus half-glass-full conundrum. But being happy with the result requires not so much...

Point made... 

Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill leapt to the defence of his players, and his own management team, after a goalless draw in the Aviva Stadium handed Denmark the advantage in their Nations League group.

Stephen Hunt: There were signs against Denmark that these Ireland players are behind their manager 

From experience, I always feel that in the opening stages of a competitive international it's important to unsettle the opposition, especially if they are...

O'Neill urges North to be braver in possession 

Michael O'Neill wants his Northern Ireland players to show more self-belief on the international stage. Friday's 1-0 loss to Austria in Vienna has left the North in a relegation battle in the Nations...

Welsh weakened as Bale and Empadu return to their clubs 

A year after his absence helped keep the Republic of Ireland's World Cup flames flickering, Gareth Bale will once again miss out against Martin O'Neill's side when they meet in the Aviva Stadium this week.

'We were accommodating young Doherty' - Martin O'Neill explains his team selection against Denmark 

Ireland manager Martin O'Neill defended his starting selection for the UEFA Nations League game against Denmark, as he claimed he set the team up to...

'We kept a clean sheet and that has to be seen as positive' - James McClean upbeat after goalless draw 

James McClean believes Ireland 'made progress' in the 0-0 draw against Denmark - although former Ireland defender Phill Babb felt that the Derry...

Ireland player ratings: Few standout performers as Martin O'Neill experiments with change of system 

Here is how the Ireland players rated in the 0-0 draw against Denmark at the Aviva Stadium.

Analysis: After another night to forget for Ireland's attack, it is time to unleash a Preston double act 

Here are five things we learned from Ireland and Denmark's 0-0 draw at the Aviva Stadium.

A point for Ireland - but they didn't prove one: No goals at the Aviva in disappointing Denmark stalemate 

A point for Martin O'Neill's Ireland, but they didn't prove one.

'It wasn't far off what actually happened' - Jon Walters discusses leaked audio message and bust-up with Roy Keane 

Jonathan Walters has given an insight into his bust-up with Roy Keane that caused a huge split in...

Ireland vs Denmark, UEFA Nations League: Pressure on home side to deliver in playoff rematch 

Ireland look to rebound from a 4-1 defeat to Wales in their opening UEFA Nations League game as they host Denmark at the Aviva Stadium. Follow all...

In-form Matt Doherty to make first Ireland start as Martin O'Neill names team to face Denmark 

Martin O'Neill has opted to start in-form Wolves defender Matt Doherty in his Ireland team to take on Denmark in the UEFA Nations League tonight...

Ireland v Denmark: What time, what TV channel and everything you need to know 

The Republic of Ireland play Denmark in the Nations League on Saturday night in Dublin.

Richard Dunne: Without Christian Eriksen, Ireland have nothing to fear from Denmark 

We are all still a bit bruised by the defeat to Denmark last year. But the fact that Christian Eriksen is not in Dublin this week and won't play...

Danish boss Hareide vows not to make excuses over injured Eriksen 

Denmark boss Age Hareide has declared that Christian Eriksen's absence won't be used as an excuse by his side if they fail to inflict a second successive Dublin defeat on Ireland in tonight's...

King's reign under scrutiny after U-21s dismal failure to deliver 

What's the optimal criteria for judging the performance of an U-21 manager?

Arnautovic gives Austria victory to plunge North into relegation battle 

Northern Ireland slipped to a second successive defeat as Marko Arnautovic's second-half strike gave Austria a 1-0 success in Group B3 of the Nations League in Vienna.

Sancho makes debut but misses haunt England in 'ghost game' stalemate 

It was quiet. Very quiet. And not just because there were no supporters.

Hendrick defends record as O'Neill looks for big midfield performance to capitalise on Eriksen absence for Denmark 

It is stating the obvious to offer the view that Christian Eriksen's unavailability helps Ireland's...

Danish boss Hareide says he hasn't spoken with O'Neill since play-off fallout 

Denmark manager Age Hareide says he hasn't spoken with Martin O'Neill since the tense fallout from last November's World Cup playoff.

Ireland still to gain from O'Dowda's fringe benefits 

When meeting Callum O'Dowda, it is virtually impossible to conceive how he might share his name with a potentially destructive meteorological storm.

12 Months of Irish drama - on and off the pitch 

OCTOBER 2017: A second-half winner from James McClean in Cardiff knocks Wales out of the World Cup and gives Ireland a chance to make the finals in Russia via a playoff. Martin O'Neill's side draw...

Martin O'Neill has two games to save job after poor home performances spell beginning of the end 

Martin O'Neill is already aware of the school of thought that he is two more bad games away from a serious debate about his future.

Marcus Rashford squanders golden chances as England and Croatia draw in empty stadium 

England should have secured their first Nations League victory after Gareth Southgate's men dealt with the quirks of playing behind closed doors...

Watch: Marko Arnautovic inflicts more Nations League woe on Northern Ireland in Vienna 

Northern Ireland's Nations League worries deepened as Austria's Marko Arnautovic condemned them to a 1-0 defeat in Vienna.

Comment: This is the week when Roy Keane needs to earn his large FAI salary 

There are two Irelands when it comes to international football.