Friday, 10 October 2025

Episode 92 - Primary motivation

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to discuss the upcoming games across all four men's teams age groups.

With the senior team flying out to Lisbon before facing Armenia at home, we ask should revenge be the primary motivation for players, or should the three points on offer be enough to drive them to a positive result?

The U21s have opened their qualifying group with two wins from two games. With England all but certain to top the group, a win in their next qualifier against Slovakia will go a long way to guaranteeing second spot for Jim Crawford's team.

With the U17 team that qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup preparing for their appearance at the finals in a months' time, we look at the current U17 squad ahead of their qualifying round group fixtures against hosts Kosovo, the Faroe Islands, and Austria.

Finally, the U19s face Albania in two friendlies as part of their preparation for their 2026 UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifying group in November.

A lot to look forward to in the next few days for fans of Irish football!

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Episode 91 - Has the road already ended?

It's taken myself, Mark, and Philip this long to calm down enough after the two qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia to be able to record our thoughts on the games. After taking one point from the opening fixtures of the qualifying campaign, is it already over? Did any players come out of the games well? And what affect will our next fixture, the hardest fixture of the qualifiers away against Portugal in Lisbon, have on the home crowd for the return game against Armenia three days later?

Thursday, 4 September 2025

Episode 90 - The Road to USA/Canada/Mexico

I'm joined again by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to discuss the squad selected by Heimir Hallgrímsson to face Hungary and Armenia in the opening two fixtures of the qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. How do we think the team is going to line out in Aviva stadium, and what players in the Hungarian side will Irish fans have to watch out for? Jim Crawford has selected the U21 squad to face Moldova and Andorra. Does opening the campaign for the 2027 UEFA U21 Championship against two minnows give the manager some scope for experimentation in the squad? With senior experience and fresh faces at this level, how do we think the team will do over their opening two fixtures, ahead of their first real challenge against Slovakia in October?