Soccer is a simple game. Twenty-two players chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, Ireland lose in heartbreaking fashion. And yet for all that pain, there is something deeply likeable about the current team. Soccer is a sport awash with money and greed, where the connection between players and fans is more tenuous than ever. Who can resist the arc of Parrott’s career, from elite schoolboy to lower-league journeyman to national hero?

Source: The Irish Times March 27, 2026 23:00 UTC