This page covers the record of the Republic of Ireland national football team in the Football World Cup and the European Football Championship. In the "Results" section, home results are written before away results. Where the Republic of Ireland only played a team once, (h), (a) and (n) indicate home, away or neutral respectively. [edit] Results [edit] Qualification | Tournament | Section | Placing | Results | Notes | | Uruguay 1930 | Did not enter | Only 4 European teams entered the first World Cup. | | Italy 1934 | Group 7: 3 teams, 2 qualify | 3rd, 1pt/4 |  Netherlands 2-5 (a)
 Belgium 4-4 (h) | Competed as "Irish Free State". Paddy Moore (v. Belgium) became the first player anywhere to score 4 goals in a World Cup match. | | France 1938 | Group 2: 2 teams, 1 qualifies | Losers |  Norway 3-3, 2-3 | | | Brazil 1950 | Group 5: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 2nd, 3pts/8 |  Sweden 1-3, 1-3
 Finland 3-0, 1-1 | After 3 qualified teams withdrew, FIFA invited the FAI to compete as a replacement: they declined.[1] | | Switzerland 1954 | Group 4: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 2nd, 4pts/8 |  France 3-5, 0-1
 Luxembourg 4-0, 1-0 | | | Sweden 1958 | Group 1: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 2nd, 5pts/8 |  England 1-1, 1-5
 Denmark 2-1, 2-0 | | | Euro 1960, France | knockout, must win 3 rounds | Lost in preliminary round |  Czechoslovakia 2-0, 0-4 | This was the only fixture of the preliminary round, but was played after several first-round matches.[2] | | Chile 1962 | Group 8: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 3rd, 0pts/8 | Czechoslovakia 1-3, 1-7
 Scotland 0-3, 1-4 | The only qualifying tournament in which the team had a 0% record. | | Euro 1964, Spain | knockout, must win 3 rounds | Lost in Quarter-finals | Preliminary:  Iceland 4-2, 1-1
Last 16:  Austria 3-2, 0-0
Quarter-final:  Spain 0-2, 1-5 | | | England 1966 | Group 9: 2 teams (Syria withdrew), 1 qualifies | Tied; Lost playoff | Spain 1-0, 1-4
Playoff: Spain 0-1 (n) | Goal difference did not count, so a playoff was played in Stade Colombes, Paris. | | Euro 1968, Italy | Group 1: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff | 3rd, 5pts/12 | Spain 0-0, 0-2
Czechoslovakia 0-2, 2-1
 Turkey 2-1, 1-2 | | | Mexico 1970 | Group 2: 4 teams, 2 qualify | 4th, 1pt/12 |  Hungary 1-2, 0-4
Czechoslovakia 1-2, 0-3
Denmark 1-1, 0-2 | | | Euro 1972, Belgium | Group 6: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff | 4th, 1pt/12 |  Italy 1-2, 0-3
Austria 1-4, 0-6
Sweden 1-1, 0-1 | | | West Germany 1974 | Group 9: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 2nd, 3pts/8 |  Soviet Union 1-2, 0-1
France 2-1, 1-1 | | | Euro 1976, Yugoslavia | Group 6: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff | 2nd, 7pts/12 | Soviet Union 3-0, 1-2
Turkey 4-0, 1-1
 Switzerland 2-1, 0-1 | Don Givens scored all 7 goals in the wins over USSR and Turkey. | | Argentina 1978 | Group 5: 3 teams, 1 qualifies | 3rd, 3pts/8 | France 1-0, 0-2
 Bulgaria 0-0, 1-2 | | | Euro 1980, Italy | Group 1: 5 teams, 1 qualifies | 3rd, 7pts/16 | England 1-1, 0-2
 Northern Ireland 0-0, 0-1
Bulgaria 3-0, 0-1
Denmark 2-0, 3-3 | The first-ever matches against Northern Ireland. | | Spain 1982 | Group 2: 5 teams, 2 qualify | 3rd, 10pts/16 | Belgium 1-1, 0-1
France 3-2, 0-2
Netherlands 2-1, 2-2
 Cyprus 6-0, 3-2 | Lost on goal difference to France in a tough and tight group. Fans lamented some controversial refereeing decisions[3] | | Euro 1984, France | Group 7: 5 teams, 1 qualifies | 3rd, 9pts/16 | Netherlands 2-3, 1-2
 Spain 3-3, 0-2
Iceland 2-0, 3-0
 Malta 8-0, 1-0 | 8-0 v. Malta remains the team's record victory. | | Mexico 1986 | Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify | 4th, 6pts/16 | Denmark 1-4, 0-3
Soviet Union 1-0, 0-2
Switzerland 3-0, 0-0
Norway 0-0, 0-1 | The last League of Ireland player to play a competitive match for the senior team was Pat Byrne of Shamrock Rovers against Denmark in November 1985. | | Euro 1988, West Germany | Group 7: 5 teams, 1 qualifies | 1st, 11pts/16
QUALIFIED | Bulgaria 2-0, 1-2
Belgium 0-0, 2-2
Scotland 0-0, 1-0
Luxembourg 2-1, 2-0 | Qualified with the help of a surprise[4] 1-0 win for Scotland in Bulgaria in the last match. | | Italy 1990 | Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify | 2nd, 12pts/16
QUALIFIED | Spain 1-0, 0-2
Hungary 2-0, 0-0
Northern Ireland 3-0, 0-0
Malta 2-0, 2-0 | | | Euro 1992, Sweden | Group 7: 4 teams, 1 qualifies | 2nd, 8pts/12 | England 1-1, 1-1
 Poland 0-0, 3-3
Turkey 5-0, 3-1 | The team's first ever unbeaten qualifying series: and yet they didn't progress. | | USA 1994 | Group 3: 7 teams, 2 qualify | 2nd, 18pts/24
QUALIFIED | Spain 1-3, 0-0
Denmark 1-1, 0-0
Northern Ireland 3-0, 1-1
 Lithuania 2-0, 1-0
 Latvia 4-0, 2-0
 Albania 2-0, 2-1 | Finished exactly level with Denmark on points and goal difference, only separated by Goals scored. | | Euro 1996, England | Group 6: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Six 2nd place teams qualify
Two 2nd place teams have playoff | 2nd, 17pts/30
Ranked 8th of 8 runners-up
Lost playoff |  Portugal 1-0, 0-3
Northern Ireland 1-1, 4-0
Austria 1-3, 1-3
Latvia 2-1, 3-0
 Liechtenstein 4-0, 0-0
Playoff: Netherlands 0-2 (n) | 0-0 v. Liechtenstein is remembered[citation needed] as one of the team's worst results of all time.
The playoff was held in Anfield, Liverpool. | | France 1998 | Group 8: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
One 2nd place team qualifies
Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs | 2nd, 18pts/30
Lost playoff |  Romania 1-1, 0-1
Lithuania 0-0, 2-1
 Macedonia 3-0, 2-3
Iceland 0-0, 4-2
Liechtenstein 5-0, 5-0
Playoff: Belgium 1-1, 1-2 | Scraped into the playoffs largely due to Tony Cascarino's 7 goals in 10 games.
5-0 v. Liechtenstein is the team's record away win, in which David Connolly had a hat trick. | | Euro 2000, Netherlands & Belgium | Group 8 6 teams, 1 qualifies
One 2nd place team qualifies
Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs | 2nd, 16pts/24
Lost playoff |  Yugoslavia 2-1, 0-1
 Croatia 2-0, 0-1
Macedonia 1-0, 1-1
Malta 5-0, 3-2
Playoff: Turkey 1-1, 0-0
(Turkey won on away goals) | The FAI originally cancelled the home match against Yugoslavia, after the government refused entry visas to the opposing team purportedly due to the NATO assault on Yugoslavia[5] (although Ireland is not a member of NATO.) | | South Korea & Japan 2002 | Group 2: 7 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff | 2nd, 24pts/30
Won playoff
QUALIFIED | Portugal 1-1, 1-1
Netherlands 1-0, 2-2
 Estonia 2-0, 2-0
Cyprus 4-0, 4-0
 Andorra 3-1, 3-0
Playoff:  Iran 2-0, 0-1 | Of the 25 goals scored in qualifying, only 4 were scored by strikers: 2 by Robbie Keane, 1 by David Connolly and 1 by Niall Quinn. | | Euro 2004, Portugal | Group 10: 5 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff | 3rd, 11pts/24 | Switzerland 1-2, 0-2
 Russia 1-1, 2-4
Albania 2-1, 0-0
 Georgia 2-0, 2-1 | | | Germany 2006 | Group 4: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Two 2nd place teams qualify
Six 2nd place teams have a playoff | 4th, 17pts/30 | France 0-1, 0-0
Switzerland 0-0, 1-1
 Israel 2-2, 1-1
Cyprus 3-0, 1-0
 Faroe Islands 2-0, 2-0 | Apart from the Republic of Ireland's loss to France, the top 4 teams drew all matches against each other, and won against the other two. | | Euro 2008, Switzerland & Austria | Group D: 7 teams, 2 qualify | 3rd, 17pts/36 |  Czech Republic 1-1, 0-1
 Germany 0-0, 0-1
 Slovakia 1-0, 2-2
 Wales 1-0, 2-2
Cyprus 1-1, 2-5
 San Marino 5-0, 2-1 | After losing to Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland fell below Northern Ireland in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since they began in 1992.[6]
Robbie Keane scored a hat-trick against San Marino, in the last soccer international played at Lansdowne Road prior to redevelopment.
The first qualifying campaign since the 1986 World Cup where the Republic of Ireland were eliminated before their last game. | | South Africa 2010 | Group 8: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Eight of nine runners-up get a playoff | 2nd, 18pts/30
Ranked 8th of 9 runners-up
Lost playoff | Italy 2-2, 1-1
Bulgaria 1-1, 1-1
Cyprus 1-0, 2-1
 Montenegro 0-0, 0-0
Georgia 2-1, 2-1
Playoff: France 0-1, 1-1
(away leg went to extra time) | This was Montenegro's first major tournament.
The Georgia away tie was played at a neutral venue in Mainz, Germany due to the 2008 South Ossetia war.
France's Thierry Henry handled the ball in order to set up William Gallas to score in the second leg of the playoff; the referee did not notice and allowed the goal to stand. This led to widespread media controversy, protests at the French embassy in Dublin and comments from senior government officials from both countries.[7][8][9] | | Euro 2012, Poland & Ukraine | Group structure: 5 or 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Best runner-up qualifies
The other 8 runners-up get a playoff | Matches begin on 3 September 2010. | tbc | Draw to be made on 7 February 2010. | [edit] Finals tournaments [edit] Euro 1988 | Match | Date | Venue | Result | Irish Team | Notes | Group
Game
1 | June 12 | Neckarstadion,
Stuttgart | England 0
 Republic of Ireland 1
(Houghton 6') | Pat Bonner; Chris Morris, Chris Hughton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran;
Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan, Paul McGrath, Tony Galvin (sub Kevin Sheedy 76');
Frank Stapleton (c.) (sub Niall Quinn 63'), John Aldridge, | Houghton's goal was a rare header. The team spent most of the rest of the game defending the lead.[10] | Group
Game
2 | June 15 | Niedersachsenstadion,
Hannover | Republic of Ireland 1
(Whelan 38') Soviet Union 1
(Protasov 74') | Bonner; Morris, Hughton, McCarthy, Moran; Houghton, Whelan, Galvin, Sheedy; Stapleton (c.) (Tony Cascarino 80'), Aldridge. | Whelan's goal was a spectacular overhead volley from a McCarthy throw-in.[11] Protasov nutmegged Bonner for the equaliser.[12] | Group
Game
3 | June 18 | Parkstadion,
Gelsenkirchen | Republic of Ireland 0
Netherlands 1
(Kieft 82') | Bonner; Morris (Sheedy 45'), Hughton, McCarthy, Moran; Houghton, Whelan, McGrath, Galvin; Stapleton (c.) (Cascarino 82'), Aldridge. | Substitute Kieft's header was going well wide but bounced with severe spin into the net.[13] | [edit] World Cup Italia 90 | Match | Date | Venue | Result | Irish Team | Notes | Group
Game
1 | June 11 | Stadio Sant'Elia,
Cagliari | England 1
(Lineker 8')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Sheedy 73') | Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy,
Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton,
John Aldridge (Alan McLoughlin 64'), Tony Cascarino, Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend | Nine of the players who represented the Republic of Ireland in this game were born in the United Kingdom. | Group
Game
2 | June 17 | Stadio Della Favorita,
Palermo | Republic of Ireland 0
 Egypt 0 | Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy,
Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Ronnie Whelan 62'),
Kevin Sheedy (Tony Cascarino 62'), Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn | | Group
Game
3 | June 21 | Stadio Della Favorita,
Palermo | Netherlands 1
(Gullit 10')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Quinn 71') | Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy,
Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (Alan McLoughlin 64'),
Tony Cascarino (Niall Quinn 84'), Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend | | Second
Round | June 25 | Stadio Luigi Ferraris,
Genoa | Republic of Ireland 0
Romania 0
aet, 5-4 penalties | Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton (David O'Leary 94'),
Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton,
John Aldridge (Tony Cascarino 22'), Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn | A Bonner save from Daniel Timofte in the shootout sent the Irish team through to the quarter-final. | Quarter
Final | June 30 | Stadio Olimpico,
Rome | Italy 1
(Schillaci 38')
Republic of Ireland 0 | Pat Bonner, Chris Morris, Steve Staunton, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran,
Paul McGrath, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge (John Sheridan 78'),
Kevin Sheedy, Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn (Tony Cascarino 53') | | [edit] World Cup USA 94 | Match | Date | Venue | Result | Irish Team | Notes | Group
Game
1 | June 18 | Giants Stadium,
East Rutherford | Italy 0
Republic of Ireland 1
(Houghton 11') | Pat Bonner; Denis Irwin, Terry Phelan,
Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane,
Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton (sub Jason McAteer 68'),
John Sheridan, Steve Staunton; Tommy Coyne (sub John Aldridge 80') | This 1-0 win was Ireland's first victory in a World Cup Finals match. The match was won by Houghton's early strike, which dipped over the keeper into the net. | Group
Game
2 | June 23 | Citrus Bowl,
Orlando |  Mexico 2
(Luis García 42' 65')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Aldridge 84') | Pat Bonner, Denis Irwin, Terry Phelan,
Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane,
Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton, John Sheridan,
Steve Staunton (sub Jason McAteer 66'); Tommy Coyne (sub John Aldridge 67') | This game featured the infamous incident about the officials not allowing John Aldridge to go on as a substitute. Aldridge lost his cool before ultimately coming on and scoring, and Jack Charlton was fined and suspended from the dugout in Ireland's final group match with Norway. | Group
Game
3 | June 28 | Giants Stadium,
East Rutherford | Republic of Ireland 0
Norway 0 | Pat Bonner; Gary Kelly, Steve Staunton,
Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Jason McAteer,
Roy Keane, Andy Townsend (sub Ronnie Whelan 75'),
John Sheridan, Ray Houghton; John Aldridge (sub David Kelly 65') | | Second
Round | July 4 | Citrus Bowl,
Orlando | Netherlands 2
(Bergkamp 11', Jonk 41')
Republic of Ireland 0 | Pat Bonner; Gary Kelly, Terry Phelan,
Phil Babb, Paul McGrath; Roy Keane,
Andy Townsend, Ray Houghton, John Sheridan,
Steve Staunton (sub Jason McAteer 63'); John Aldridge, Tommy Coyne (sub Tony Cascarino 74') | | [edit] World Cup Korea-Japan 2002 | Match | Date | Venue | Result | Irish Team | Notes | Group
Game
1 | June 1 | Niigata Stadium Big Swan,
Niigata, Japan |  Cameroon 1
(Mboma 39')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Holland52') Report | Shay Given; Gary Kelly, Ian Harte (sub Steven Reid 77'),
Gary Breen, Steve Staunton; Jason McAteer (sub Steve Finnan 45'),
Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella, Kevin Kilbane,
Damien Duff; Robbie Keane | | Group
Game
2 | June 5 | Kashima Stadium,
Kashima, Japan | Germany 1
(Klose 19')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Robbie Keane 90')
Report | Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub Steven Reid 73'),
Gary Breen, Steve Staunton (sub Kenny Cunningham 87');
Gary Kelly (sub Niall Quinn 73'), Matt Holland,
Kevin Kilbane, Mark Kinsella, Damien Duff;
Robbie Keane | The Republic's first ever competitive match against a German side. | Group
Game
3 | June 11 | International Stadium,
Yokohama, Japan | Republic of Ireland 3
(Robbie Keane 7', Breen 61', Duff 87')
 Saudi Arabia 0
Report | Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub Niall Quinn 45'),
Gary Breen, Steve Staunton;
Gary Kelly (sub Jason McAteer 80'), Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella (sub Lee Carsley 89'), Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane,
| This was the first time an Irish player had scored more than one goal in total in the World Cup Finals. Robbie Keane eventually went on to score three goals in the competition. | Second
Round | June 16 | Big Bird Stadium,
Suwon, South Korea | Spain 1
(Morientes 8')
Republic of Ireland 1
(Robbie Keane 90' pen)
aet, lost 3-2 penalties
Report | Shay Given; Steve Finnan, Ian Harte (sub David Connolly 82'),
Gary Breen, Steve Staunton (sub Kenny Cunningham 50');
Gary Kelly (sub Niall Quinn 55'), Matt Holland,
Mark Kinsella, Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff; Robbie Keane | | [edit] All-time records Accurate to September 11, 2008. | | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | % | Average result | | Home games | 100 | 53 | 30 | 17 | 186 | 89 | +97 | 76% | 1.9 – 0.9 | | Away games | 102 | 27 | 27 | 48 | 111 | 158 | –48 | 35% | 1.1 – 1.5 | | Neutral games | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | –3 | 0% | 0 – 1.5 | | Finals tournaments | 17 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 43% | 0.7 – 0.7 | | Totals | 221 | 83 | 67 | 71 | 309 | 262 | +46 | 54% | 1.4 – 1.2 | [edit] UEFA countries the Republic of Ireland have never played competitively Current
Defunct
[edit] References |
