Heimir Hallgrímsson has rung the changes for his second Ireland squad as head coach, with over a quarter of the squad fresh faces from the last camp.
Hallgrímsson himself admitted during the window of defeats to England and Greece that he was acquainting himself with the Irish squad and it now seems as though he has done so.
Six players from September’s squad are missing this time round, while seven new faces are in the 24-man squad.
Among the new cohort of players in the Ireland squad are two uncapped players.
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Heimir Hallgrímsson names second Ireland squad
The players coming IN to the Ireland squad
Mark McGuinness (first senior call-up)
6 June 2022; Mark McGuinness of Republic of Ireland and Nikola Krstovic of Montenegro during the UEFA European U21 Championship qualifying group F match between Republic of Ireland and Montenegro at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Former Ireland U21 international Mark McGuinness has earned his first call-up to the senior squad off the back of a promising start to the season with Championship side Luton Town.
Capped five times at U21 level, the 23-year-old broke into the starting lineup after the club’s disastrous start to the season, and the side have begun to show signs of getting back to form, picking up seven points from their first four games.
Born in Slough, McGuinness is eligible to play for Ireland through his Derry-born father.
Jack Taylor (uncapped)
16 June 2023; Jack Taylor of Republic of Ireland before the UEFA EURO 2024 Championship qualifying group B match between Greece and Republic of Ireland at the OPAP Arena in Athens, Greece. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Jack Taylor has been in impressive form for Ipswich thus far this season as they adapt to life in the Premier League.
Though he is yet to start for the Tractor Boys in the top flight, he has featured off the bench on four occasions, impressing in Sunday’s excellent 2-2 home draw against Aston Villa.
This is Taylor’s third call-up to the senior squad, though he is yet to be capped. He was called up twice under Stephen Kenny, and will hope to finally get on the pitch at the third time of asking this time around.
Josh Cullen
11 June 2024; Josh Cullen of Republic of Ireland during the international friendly match between Portugal and Republic of Ireland at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
A mainstay of the Ireland midfield in recent years, Josh Cullen missed out on Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first Ireland squad through injury.
With Cullen back in the Burnley starting XI and Will Smallbone out injured, one would expect Cullen will slot right back in in the middle of the park.
Finn Azaz
4 June 2024; Finn Azaz of Republic of Ireland and Márton Dárdai of Hungary during the international friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Finn Azaz made his international debut under John O’Shea in March, and returns to the Ireland squad having missed out on Hallgrímsson’s first selection last month.
The attacking midfield has become a core part of Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough team this season, starting all eight of their Championship games thus far and contributing two assists.
Festy Ebosele
10 September 2024; Festy Ebosele of Republic of Ireland before the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Festy Ebosele was called up on short notice for the second game of the September window as injury cover for Seamus Coleman, though the Wexford man did not see any minutes against Greece.
The 22-year-old right-back will hope to make an impression with both Coleman and Matt Doherty missing from this squad. He has recently begun to make an impression on the Watford starting XI, as he spends a season on loan from Udinese with the Championship club.
Jamie McGrath
4 June 2024; Jamie McGrath of Republic of Ireland before the international friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
In hindsight, it’s strange that Jamie McGrath was not included in the squad for the Nations League openers last month.
The Athboy man has made a brilliant start to the SPFL season with Aberdeen, providing five assists in their first five games as the Dons sit level on points with league leaders Celtic. His creativity could be a major asset for Ireland in this window.
Mikey Johnston
11 June 2024; Mikey Johnston of Republic of Ireland in action against Matheus Nunes of Portugal during the international friendly match between Portugal and Republic of Ireland at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Mikey Johnston missed out on the last window through injury, with Heimir Hallgrímsson explaining on Thursday that the West Brom man was slowly working his way back to full fitness.
The 25-year-old has impressed when given a chance in an Ireland jersey and comes into this camp having worked his way back into contention at club level. He completed a permanent move to West Brom from Celtic over the summer, having spent the second half of last season on loan there.
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The players DROPPED from the Ireland squad
Matt Doherty
10 September 2024; Matt Doherty of Republic of Ireland after the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The most notable absentee from the squad, 46-times capped Matt Doherty has been dropped after two poor performances against England and Greece last time out.
Hallgrímsson said on Thursday that his absence was down to a desire for rotation from the coaching team, though Doherty’s long-term prospects of staying in the Ireland camp will likely now be called into question.
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Jake O’Brien
Though a move to the Premier League appeared attractive on paper over the summer, things have not worked out for Jake O’Brien at Everton thus far.
The 23-year-old arrived at Goodison Park after a stellar season with Lyon in Ligue 1 but has spent the vast majority of the season on the bench, while the Toffees languish towards the bottom of the Premier League table.
His lack of game time at club level has regrettably seen him dropped from the international squad.
Alan Browne
Alan Browne featured in both games of the last window, though he struggled particularly in the second-half against Greece.
With midfield reinforcement arriving in the form of Jack Taylor, Josh Cullen, and Finn Azaz, something had to give in this squad. Regrettably for Browne, he was the one to miss out this time.
Callum Robinson
Similarly to Browne, Robinson is dropped from the squad despite having seen game time in the last window.
His absence from the squad could be described as unfortunate given he has scored at club level in recent weeks but he offered little off the bench against Greece. With several of Ireland’s attacking talent in strong form with their clubs, Robinson drops out of the squad.
Seamus Coleman (injury)
Seamus Coleman hobbled off injured against England in the last window and has not featured for club or country since. The Ireland captain will hope to return to full fitness for the November camp.
Will Smallbone (injury)
Similarly to Seamus Coleman, Will Smallbone picked up a hamstring injury during the last international window and has not featured for his club Southampton since. He has not recovered in time to be named in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad.