Seamus Coleman rolled back the years once again to keep the Republic of Ireland’s dreams of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup alive.
The Boys in Green ground out a 1-0 victory over Armenia in Group F last night. Evan Ferguson notched the only goal in the 70th minute against the 10-man visitors at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. It means that the Republic are third in their pool but just a point behind Hungary, who earned a late 2-2 draw against runaway leaders Portugal.
There was some surprise when Coleman was named in Eire’s starting line-up in last weekend’s late 1-0 loss against Portugal. The Everton captain has made only two brief substitute cameos in the Premier League this season and has struggled with fitness issues in recent years.
But Coleman was excellent against the Nations League champions – and once again stood up to be counted against Armenia. The 37-year-old, who earned a 75th cap for the Republic, played for 65 minutes and delivered a quintessential performance that displayed his heart of his sleeve.
SportsJoe were highly impressed by Coleman’s display, handing him a 7/10 match rating. It commented: “Ireland’s best player. Showed courage to win an early foul by sticking his head where it hurts, and that set the tone for his night. Was the only Ireland defender to put pressure on the ball and got the crowd going by bashing into the goalkeeper – adopting Roy Keane’s ‘just kick someone’ tactic – showing more fight in three seconds than some in green had shown in four matches. It worked, rattling Armenia as Barseghyan saw red moments later. How Ireland could have done with him in Yerevan last month.”
RTE also agreed with Coleman, who deserved a score of 7/10, and said: “The former team skipper started consecutive competitive international games for the first time since 2021 to win his 75th cap. Two sliding challenges in the opening minute had the crowd, still slowly filing in, showing their appreciation. Zhirayr Shaghoyan’s high boot resulted in a bloody nose shortly after, where strong tackles from anyone in green were marked absent in a sobering first half. Upped the tempo after the break, with Hallgrimsson explaining post-match the decision to replace the Everton man was down to his yellow card.”
Coleman was booked in the first half for a foul on Henri Avagyan. However, the Irish Examiner, who gave the defender a 6/10 score, said it was needed to raise the crowd. It commented: “Left bloodied inside two minutes by the carelessly high boot of Zhirayr Shaghoyan and booked for a needless charge on Henri Avagyan, designed to bring their tepid performance to life. Full of effort again but, unsurprisingly, looked tired when coming off not long after an hour.”
The Irish Independent added: “Marked his 75th cap with a solid display at right wing-back. Shook off a bad kick to his face in the early stages and did his duties in attack and defence.”
Everton defender Jake O’Brien featured for 90 minutes and generally scored 6/10 among media outlets. The pair will now travel back to Merseyside ahead of Everton’s return to Premier League action when they travel to Manchester City on Saturday.
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