On Saturday evening, Declan Rice will take to the Aviva Stadium pitch for the first time in six years as Ireland face England in the first game of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.
However, there will be a crucial difference from the last time that the Arsenal midfielder lined out in Dublin.
Of course, the last time Declan Rice played at the Aviva Stadium, he was playing for Ireland. This time, he will be playing for England.
The sense of betrayal felt by many in Irish football towards Rice is well-established at this stage, and it is expected that the 25-year-old can anticipate a hostile welcome from the home crowd when he emerges in the white of England on Saturday evening.
His acrimonious return comes just over six years from the third of his three senior caps for the Boys in Green. The team that lined out on the pitch that day contains plenty of well-established names – but also a few surprising picks. It was also the final Aviva Stadium outing for two giants of the 2010s in Irish football.
We’ve gone through all the players who took to the pitch that June 2018 night against the USA to see what they’re up to now.
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The Ireland team that lined out for Declan Rice’s last game in green
2 June 2018; The Republic of Ireland team pose for a team photograph prior to the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
GK: Colin Doyle
11 years after making his debut against Ecuador, Colin Doyle finally won his second Ireland cap in early 2018, in a friendly defeat to Turkey (also Declan Rice’s debut for Ireland).
Doyle enjoyed a brief run in the first team, starting against France and the USA in the summer of 2018 – though this game would be his fourth and final cap for his country.
The Corkman was plying his trade for Bradford at the time, completing a transfer to Hearts shortly after the USA game. He would spend two years at Kilmarnock before returning to Bradford in 2022. He remains with the Bantams as a player-coach, having not played a league game since his return.
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LWB:Â James McClean
One of the most recognisable names in the recent history of Irish football, James McClean continued to play for Ireland right up until the end of 2023.
The Derryman earned his 100th cap for his country against Gibraltar last June, before playing his final game against New Zealand in November. The final months of McClean’s international career were marked by hints of a falling out with manager Stephen Kenny. He has hinted that he could be persuaded to come out of international retirement.
The 35-year-old now lines out for the McElhenney/Reynolds Football League powerhouse of Wrexham.
McClean provided the assist for Ireland’s winner on the night.
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CB: Kevin Long
In the summer of 2018, Kevin Long had completed a Premier League season with Burnley, playing an important role in keeping the Clarets in the top flight of English football.
Having made 16 Premier League appearances in that 2017-18 season, Long’s game time at club level would dwindle over the coming years before he eventually departed for Birmingham in 2023.
Last year, he completed a permanent move to MLS side Toronto FC, where he is expected to remain for 2025. His last appearance for Ireland came against Bulgaria in November 2020.
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CB: Shane Duffy
Derry’s Shane Duffy would remain an important part of the Ireland setup until deep into the Stephen Kenny, with his propensity to pop up with an important headed goal utilised by just about every Irish manager of the last decade.
In more recent times, he has dropped in and out of the national team setup, though he did feature in June’s friendly against Hungary.
He currently plays for Norwich after mixed spells at Fulham and Celtic in recent years.
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CB: John O’Shea
2 June 2018; John O’Shea of Republic of Ireland makes his way onto the pitch with his daughter Ruby and son Alfie prior to the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
In very different circumstances to Declan Rice and Colin Doyle, this was also John O’Shea’s final game for Ireland.
Earning his 118th cap (the third most of any Irish player), O’Shea captained the team and received a commendation from President Michael D. Higgins in the days leading up to the match. However, this was little more than a farewell tour for O’Shea, who was playing for his country for the first time in over a year and played only 34 minutes at the Aviva (leaving the pitch to a thoroughly-deserved standing ovation).
He would retire from club football the following summer after a season with Reading.
O’Shea moved into coaching after his retirement, taking roles with the Ireland U21s and Stoke City before moving up to become Stephen Kenny’s assistant in February of last year. He would then become interim head coach after Kenny’s sacking.
Of course, O’Shea will be on the touchline for Rice’s return on Saturday, in his role as assistant head coach to Heimir Hallgrimsson.
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RWB: Seamus Coleman
One of only two members of this starting XI who is still part of the Ireland playing group, Seamus Coleman is well into the 14th year of his international career at this stage.
The game against the USA in 2018 was only Coleman’s third game since his return from injury after a horrific leg break against Wales in 2017. It was also one of the final games he would play not as captain – a position he has filled in most internationals since 2018.
He has remained a stalwart at Everton in the years since, and is now the longest-serving player at any club in the Premier League. A true legend of modern Irish football.
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CM: Declan Rice
2 June 2018; Declan Rice of Republic of Ireland during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Saturday will mark Declan Rice’s first game in the Aviva Stadium since lining out for Ireland against the USA in June 2018.
Under a year later, in February 2019, Rice would confirm his switch to England, making his debut for the Three Lions a month later against the Czech Republic. Though England did host Ireland in Wembley in November 2020, Rice did not feature off the bench.
Since making his contentious switch, Rice has earned 58 caps for England, starting in two European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024. He also became the joint-most expensive English player of all-time when signing for Arsenal (a record he curiously shares with Jack Grealish).
Rice has become one of the great pantomime villains for Irish football fans since defecting to England.
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CM: Jeff Hendrick
Though Jeff Hendrick was still a regular starter at the time of this game, and remained so for much of the years to come, his finest days in a green shirt were slowly fading into memory.
As the Stephen Kenny era progressed, Hendrick slowly drifted out of the Ireland team, and he has not played since coming off the bench for the final five minutes of last June’s EURO 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar.
The 32-year-old is currently without a club after being released by Newcastle during the summer. He had spent last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, though an injury-ridden season saw him make only one league appearance in 2024.
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CM: Callum O’Dowda
Alongside Coleman, the only man in this team who remains in the current Ireland squad and could come up against Declan Rice on Saturday evening.
His minutes in an Irish shirt have been sporadic in recent years. Though he played in every game of John O’Shea’s interim spell in charge, his minutes over the previous three years had been scarce, winning only four caps between 2020 and 2024.
Nonetheless, he could well find himself lining up against Rice in midfield rather than alongside him this weekend. He currently plays for Cardiff City, having joined in 2022 after a six year spell at Bristol City.
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ST: Jonathan Walters
A hero of many a great day in an Ireland jersey, this would prove to be Jonathan Walters’ final home game as an Irish international. He won one further cap for his country, playing in the 4-1 defeat to Wales in Cardiff three months later which began the fall of the Martin O’Neill era,.
Walters would secure a loan move to Ipswich shortly after this game, before retiring at the end of the 2018-19 season.
He would retire with 54 caps to his name and 14 goals for the Boys in Green. Walters currently holds the role of sporting director at his former club Stoke City.
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ST: Graham Burke
2 June 2018; Graham Burke of Republic of Ireland shoots to score his side’s first goal during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
After the USA opened the scoring, it was Graham Burke who snatched Ireland’s equaliser on that June 2018 night.
Burke’s goal was hugely significant, with the Shamrock Rovers man becoming the first League of Ireland player in 40 years to score for the Irish national team.
Just days after this game, Burke secured a move to Championship side Preston North End. He would struggle for regular game time in England and, after a brief loan spell at Gillingham, returned to Rovers in the summer of 2019.
He remains with the Hoops, and has scored regularly in European qualifiers for the side in recent years, including on this year’s run to the Conference League group stage. He has three goals in 20 Premier Division appearances this season.
Burke has only been capped one further time for Ireland, against Poland in the UEFA Nations League later in 2018.
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Substitutes
Darragh Lenihan
A debutant against the US, Darragh Lenihan remained at Blackburn until the summer of 2022, when he completed a move to Middlesbrough. He has earned only three further caps in the years since.
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Enda Stevens
Another debutant, this was the first of 26 caps to date for left-back Enda Stevens. The then-Sheffield United man got a 13 minute run out, and would remain a core part of the squad until early in the Stephen Kenny era.
Stevens’ minutes have been more sporadic in recent years and, though he has been named in several squads, he has made just one appearance for Ireland since 2022.
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Harry Arter
At the time a regular in the Ireland team, Harry Arter has not played a game of professional football since a brief loan spell at Notts County in the 2021-22 season. He was on the books of parent club Nottingham Forest for four years between 2020 and 2024, but made only 15 appearances total for the club before his contract expired this summer.
He had been told as far back as 2021 that he was free to leave the club, but remained on the books right up until the end of last season due to a clause in his contract which saw his deal extended after the club were promoted to the Premier League.
Arter’s last game for Ireland came against Qatar in Dublin in 2021.
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Alan Judge
2 June 2018; Alan Judge of Republic of Ireland celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Alan Judge was the man who secured Ireland’s winner on the night, scoring his first (and only) international goal in injury time to secure a 2-1 win. At the time, he was a Brentford player, and he has lined out for Ipswich and Colchester in the years since.
He most recently played for non-league side Woking. Judge won five further caps for his country, continuing as part of the squad under Mick McCarthy in 2019.
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Daryl Horgan
Daryl Horgan would spend much of the next few years on the sidelines for Ireland, before being brought back into the setup by Stephen Kenny in 2020. He scored his first (and, to date, only) goal for his country in the first win of the Kenny era against Andorra in June 2021. He has not played for Ireland since the 3-0 win against Azerbaijan in October 2021.
Horgan has returned to the League of Ireland of late with Dundalk. He has three goals in 24 Premier Division appearances this season.
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Manager: Martin O’Neill (with assistant Roy Keane)
2 June 2018; Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill embraces John O’Shea after he was substituted during the International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and the United States at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The O’Neill-Keane era was fast winding down at this stage, with the 2018 World Cup playoff hammering at the hands of Denmark dampening the feel-good atmosphere that pervaded after EURO 2016.
O’Neill would be gone by the end of the calendar year after Ireland finished bottom of their Nations League B group in the autumn. He and Keane would quickly move to take over at Nottingham Forest, though the pair would depart after only six months with the club.
Neither have worked in coaching since that ill-fated Forest sojourn.
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