Republic of Ireland Senior Football Team Results 1960 to 1969

As Irish soccer entered the 1960’s the Republic of Ireland had only played 20 competitive football matches in total with mixed results.

In 1960 the inaugural European Championship Finals were hosted by France and this addition to the European soccer landscape provided further opportunities for the Irish team to play competitive fixtures on a more regular basis. However at this time World Cup qualifying groups were very small so there very few World Cup matches for teams that did not qualify for the Finals.

For the 1962 World Cup qualifiers Ireland featured in a group with Czechoslovakia and Scotland. Four football matches played and four poor results. Ireland lost all four group matches including a heavy 7-1 defeat to Czechoslovakia in Prague.

Ireland in 1966 World Cup Play Offs Against Spain

Qualifying for the 1966 World Cup in England involved a two match play-off with Spain when Syria withdrew from the competition. Despite a good result in the home match, a 1-0 victory in Dublin, the Republic went on to lose the away match in Seville by a score line of 4-1.

The tie went to a third match at a neutral venue which Spain won 1-0. The circumstances surrounding this match and the behaviour of the FAI rank as one of the darkest days in Irish soccer. Follow this link to learn more about Ireland V Spain in Paris in 1965. TV soccer pundit Eamon Dunphy made his debut in this match.

It was only in the qualifying stages for the 1970 World Cup that Ireland first featured in a four team group. During the 1960’s decade the Irish soccer great, Johnny Giles, established himself as a World class midfielder.

Republic of Ireland Match Results 1960 to 1969 (inclusive)

Scores in parentheses are half-time scores