Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and Séamus Coleman during a press conference at the Fortuna Arena in Prague in advance of Thursday's World Cup playoff semi-final against the Czech Republic. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/InphoHow Troy Parrott factor will influence Ireland v Czech Republic Listen | 37:57It was put to Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson on Wednesday morning, before a training session at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, that he is a preternaturally calm person. Sitting beside Séamus Coleman, the former Ireland captain he overlooked for that near-disastrous loss in Yerevan last September, Hallgrímsson was confidant enough to mention the lowest point of a World Cup qualification campaign in advance of its climax. The obvious concern is that Coleman has only played 10 minutes of football since Ireland beat Hungary 3-2 on November 16th. After the last two games [Portugal and Hungary], seeing what it did to our country, it was incredible.

Source: The Irish Times March 25, 2026 23:26 UTC