Irish 2018 World Cup Qualification Campaign – Group D

The Republic of Ireland was drawn as a fourth seed in Group D of the World Cup 2018 qualification competition. The finals will be held in Russia and the Irish will have to overcome top seeds Wales, as well as Serbia, Austria, Moldova, and Georgia, to qualify automatically for the 2014 World Cup.

A strong second place finish will lead to a two-leg play-off against another second placed team from another group.

The group was generally considered to be as good as could have been expected. Although top seeds Wales were ranked number 10 in the FIFA rankings the Irish were relieved to have avoided one of the European super powers of football. Ireland had only met Wales once before in competitive matches – during the Euro 2008 qualifiers when the Irish garnered four points from a possible six. The first time the Republic of Ireland played an international match at Croke Park was against Wales in March 2007 when Stephen Ireland scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. The return match in Wales ended 2-2 with the Irish goals coming from Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane.

On the day (25 July 2015) of the World Cup draw for the 2018 World Cup qualification groups the World rankings of the teams drawn in Group D were as follows:

Ireland’s Fixtures for World Cup 2018 Qualification

Date		Home		Away
5 Sep 2016		Serbia	2 – 2	Republic of Ireland
6 Oct 2016		Republic of Ireland	1 – 0	Georgia
9 Oct 2016		Moldova	1 – 3	Republic of Ireland
12 Nov 2016		Austria	0 – 1	Republic of Ireland
24 Mar 2017		Republic of Ireland	0 – 0	Wales
11 Jun 2017		Republic of Ireland	1 – 1	Austria
2 Sep 2017		Georgia	1 – 1	Republic of Ireland
5 Sep 2017		Republic of Ireland	0 – 1	Serbia
6 Oct 2017		Republic of Ireland	2 – 0	Moldova
9 Oct 2017		Wales	0 – 1	Republic of Ireland

World Cup 2018 Qualifying Campaign – Group Table

2018 World Cup – Qualifying Group D – Latest Standings
	Nation	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Goals F	Goals A	Points
	Serbia	10	6	3	1	20	10	21
	Republic of Ireland	10	5	4	1	12	6	19
	Wales	10	4	5	1	13	6	17
	Austria	10	4	3	3	14	12	15
	Georgia	10	0	5	5	8	14	5
	Moldova	10	0	2	8	4	23	2

Serbia v Republic of Ireland – 5 September 2016

Usually a point away from home in a World Cup qualifier would be considered a good outcome however Irish fans were left concerned and a bit frustrated after Ireland’s 2-2 draw against Serbia in Belgrade on a wet Monday night.

A deflected Jeff Hendrick goal gave the Irish the lead with just three minutes gone before Serbia hit back through Filip Kostic and a very dubious Dusan Tadic penalty.

Although he had never scored for Ireland before, the introduction of Daryl Murphy with 15 minutes of the match left proved vital though as the Newcastle striker scored with a powerful header within minutes to secure the all-important equaliser.
RESULT: Serbia 2-2 Republic of Ireland.

Serbia: 1 Predrag RAJKOVIC (GK) 2 Antonio RUKAVINA 4 Nemanja GUDELJ 5 Matija NASTASIC 6 Branislav IVANOVIC (C) 9 Aleksandar MITROVIC 10 Dusan TADIC 14 Filip MLADENOVIC 16 Luka MILIVOJEVIC 17 Filip KOSTIC 21 Jagos VUKOVIC. Subs: Andrija PAVLOVIC 59′ (for Motrovic) Dusko TOSIC 77′ (for Mladenovic) Aleksandar KATAI 82′ (for Kostic)
Rep of Ireland: 23 Darren RANDOLPH (GK) 2 Seamus COLEMAN (C) 4 John O’SHEA 5 Richard KEOGH 6 Glenn WHELAN 9 Shane LONG 10 Robbie BRADY 11 James McCLEAN 13 Jeff HENDRICK 17 Stephen WARD 19 Jon WALTERS. Subs: Stephen Quinn 70′ (for Ward) Daryl Murphy 76′ (for Hendrick) Ciaran Clark 90+1′ (for Long)
Referee: KASSAI Viktor, Assistant Referee 1: TOTH Vencel, Assistant Referee 2: RING Gyorgy, Fourth official: BOGNAR Tamas

Republic of Ireland v Georgia – 6 October 2016

It took a highly unusual goal from the Irish captain, Coleman, to secure the points for a stangely lacklustre Irish team. In a poor performance throughout the entire Irish side it appeared that the Irish might even be lucky to earn a draw. Ten moinutes into the second have Coleman picked up the ball just inside the Georgian half. He ran down the touch line and then across the bye line into the box following a couple of richochets Ireland’s captain found himself with a simple tap-in on the Georgian goal line.

A downside of the night was a booking for Jeff Hendrick, ruling him out of the next match, and a sickening head injury to Robbie Brady in the 80th minute.
Result: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia.

Rep of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, Clark, Duffy, Ward, McCarthy, Hendrick, Brady (Whelan 80′), McClean, Walters, Long (O’Shea 95′)
Georgia: Loria, Kakabadze, Kverkvelia, Keshia, Navakovski (Kobakhidze 89), Deushvili Katcharava 93′), Gvilia, Kazaishvili, Okriashvili, Anaanidze (Skhirtladze 73′), Mchedidze
Referee: Tony Chapron (France)

Moldova v Republic of Ireland – 9 October 2016

Ireland’s first ever meeting with Moldova couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. After just two minutes Shane Long slotted home after Wes Hoolahan found him with a beautiful slide-rule pass. Unfortunately the Irish failed to press home the advantage and allowed the Moldovans to equalise just on half time through Igor Bugaiov.

Fortunately for Ireland James McClean popped up with a brace of goals in the second half to secure full points for the away team. It was a less than convincing performance but after the third round of group matches the Irish were in second place in the group level on points with leader Serbia.
Result: Moldova 1-3 Republic of Ireland.

Moldova: Calancea; Bordian, Posmac, Armas, Bolohan; Cojocari, Gatcan; Andronic, Zasavitchi, Dedov; Bugaiov. Subs: Golovatenco for Armas (36 mins),Cebotaru for Zasavitchi (62 mins), Sidorenco for Andronic (83 mins)
Rep of Ireland: Randolph (West Ham); Coleman (Everton), Duffy (Brighton), Clark (Newcastle United), Ward (Burnley), McCarthy (Everton), Whelan (Stoke City), Walters (Stoke City), Hoolahan (Norwich City), McClean (West Brom), Long (Southampton). Subs: O’Dowda (Bristol City) for Long (63 mins), Meyler (Hull City) for McCarthy (80 mins), O’Kane (Leeds United) for Hoolahan (87 mins)
Referee: J Kehlet (Denmark)

Austria v Republic of Ireland – 12 November 2016

Ireland’s record against Austria, particularly away from home, was not inspiing ahead of the meeting of the two teams in November 2016. In seven previous matches in Vienna the best result that the Irish had achieved was a 0-0 draw back in 1963.

Furthermore Martin O’Neill’s team took to the field without a recognised out-and-out striker due to injuries. Nevertheless Ireland eked out a historic 1-0 win courtesy of a smart strike from wide man James McClean. The Derryman latched on to a precise pass from Wes Hoolahan and drove the ball home through the Austrian keeper’s legs. A draw between Wales and Serbia on the same night left Ireland sitting on top of Group D with 10 points from four matches.
Result: Austria 0-1 Republic of Ireland.

Austria: Ozcan (Bayer Leverkusen); Klein (VfB Stuttgart), Dragovic (Bayer Leverkusen), Hinteregger (Augsburg), Wimmer (Tottenham); Baumgartlinger (Bayer Leverkusen), Alaba (Bayern Munich); Sabitzer (RB Leipzig), Schopf (Schalke), Arnautovic (Stoke City); Janko (Basel). Subs: Schaub for Schopf (57 mins), Harnik for Sabitzer (73 mins), Ilsanker for Wimmer (78 mins)
Rep of Ireland: Darren Randolph; Seamus Coleman (C), Ciaran Clark, Shane Duffy, Robbie Brady; Harry Arter, Glenn Whelan, Jeff Hendrick, Wes Hoolahan, James McClean, Jonathan Walters. Subs: David Meyler for Whelan (24 mins), David McGoldrick for Hoolahan (78 mins), Aiden McGeady for McClean (85 mins)
Referee: Sergey Karasev (Russia)

Republic of Ireland V Wales – 24 March 2017

Ireland’s had the opportunity to effectively end Welsh hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals in Russia by inflicting a defeat on the Wlsh at the Aviva Stadium. Itish manager, Martin O’Neill, had bee badly impacted by a spate of injuries and a suspension of Robbie Brady.

In that context Irish supporters were happy to accept a scoreless draw that kept ireland joint top of the table with Serbia. There was one major negative from the match and that was a horresduous leg break on Seamus Coleman. In a rash challenge that saw Neil Taylor receive a straight red card The Irish captain had two bones in his leg broken. It was an injury that see Coleman embark upon a very long road to recovery.
Result: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Wales.

Rep of Ireland: Darren Randolph; Seamus Coleman (C), Richard Keogh, John O’Shea, Shane Long, Glenn Whelan, Jeff Hendrick, Stephen Ward, James McClean, David Meyler, Jonathan Walters. Subs: Cyrus Christie for Coleman (72 mins), Aiden McGeady for Meyler (79 mins)
Wales: Wayne HENNESSEY, Chris GUNTER, Neil TAYLOR, Ben DAVIES, James CHESTER, Ashley WILLIAMS (C), Joe ALLEN, Hal ROBSON-KANU, Aaron RAMSEY, Gareth BALE, Joseph LEDLEY. Subs: Sam Vokes for Robson-Kanu (46 mins), Ashley Richards for Ledley (72 mins)
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

Republic of Ireland V Austria – 2 June 2017

With a very disorganised Austrian set-up coming to the Aviva and a number of potential starters absent there was a general optimism that Ireland could take a major step towards qualification for Russia in 2018. Unfortunately no-one had told the Austrians that they were expected to roll-over for the Irish. A lacklustre Irish performance was punished when the Austrians grabbed a first half lead through Martin Hinterigger.

As the match wore on the Austrians fell deeper and deeper allowing the Irish to impose their game a bit more. Eventually Jon Walters smashed the equaliser home with five minutes to go. Despite further pressure from the Irish a winner wasn’t forthcoming. As the other two games in the group also ended in draws it was as-you-were after this round of matches.
Result: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Austria.

Rep of Ireland: Darren RANDOLPH, Cyrus CHRISTIE, Glenn WHELAN (C), Robbie BRADY, James McCLEAN, Jeff HENDRICK, Stephen WARD, Kevin LONG, Jon WALTERS, Shane DUFFY, Harry ARTER. Subs: Daryl MURPHY for Ward (56 mins), Wes HOOLOHAN for Arter (71 mins), Aiden MCGEADY for Whelan (77 mins)
Austria: Heinz LINDNER, Stefan LAINER, Aleksandar DRAGOVIC, Martin HINTEREGGER, David ALABA, Florian KAINZ, Zlatko JUNUZOVIC, Julian BAUMGARTLINGER (C), Sebastian PROEDL, Guido BURGSTALLER, Valentin LAZARO. Subs: HARNIK for Burgstaller (75 mins), GRILLITSCH for Junuzovic (79 mins), GREGORITSCH for Kainz (90 mins)
Referee: David FERN�NDEZ BORBAL�N

Georgia  V Republic of Ireland – 2 September 2017

A hugely disappointing  performance from Ireland saw them effectively drop two points in Tblisii. Indeed the Irish were lucky to escape with a draw as the Georgians dominated throughout the entire match. This was despite an encouraging start with Shane Duffy scoring his first international goal after just three minutes. Following the goal the Irish conceded possession and territory to Georgia. Defending deep the Irish players seemed to be content to just clear their lines and give possession back to the skillful Georgians.

Almost inevitably Georgia scored an equaliser in the 34th minute as they picked their way through the Irish defence. Jano Ananidze, who was the best player on the field and bossed the midfield despite his small stature, set up Valeri Kaziashvili for a cool finish. The Irish did manage to create a couple of half chances however the Georgians, who had 79% possession, deserved the vicory that frustratingly eluded them.
Result: Georgia 1-1 Republic of Ireland

Georgia: Makaridze; Kakabadze, Kvirklevia, Kashia (C), Navalovski; Gvilia, Kvekveskiri; Jighauri (Chantuira, 75), Ananidze, Kaziashvili (Khocholava, 90); Kvitalia (Merebashvili, 85).
Republic of Ireland: Darren Randolph; Cyrus Christie, Shane Duffy, Ciaran Clark, Stephen Ward; Glenn Whelan (Daryl Murphy, 78), Harry Arter (Aiden McGeady, 61); Jon Walters, Robbie Brady, James McClean, Shane Long.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak

Republic of Ireland V Serbia – 5 September 2017

Ireland went into this match against table toppers Serbia knowing that a win would send the Irish to the top of table D.  At the final whistle Ireland was in third place having been leapfrogged by Wales. Despite a greatly improved performance from three days previously the Irish succumbed to a well-taken goal by Kolarov in the second half. Even with the Serbs reduced to ten men late in the match Ireland could not find the way through the Serbian defence. A night that started with so much promise ended in bitter disappointment as Ireland’s hopes of qualification for the World Cup finals in Russia in 2018 looked to be doomed.
Result: Republic of Ireland 0-1 Serbia

Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Christie, Duffy, Clark, Ward (O’Dowda 72), Meyler (Hourihane 79), Hoolahan (Murphy 62), Brady, McClean, Walters, Long. Booked: McClean, Brady.
Serbia: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Maksimovic, Vukovic, Rukavina, Milojevic, Matic, Tadic (Gudelj 81), Kolarov, Kostic (S.Mitrovic 72), A.Mitrovic (Prijovic 79). Booked: Stojkovic, Rukavina. Sent off: Maksimovic.
Referee: C.Cakir (Turkey)

Republic of Ireland V Moldova – 6 October 2017

Ireland won this match as expected against the whipping boys of the group. Two first half goals from Daryl Murphy sealed the victory and the three points to keep Ireland’s interest in the group alive into the last match of the group against Wales.
Result: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Moldova

Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Christie, Duffy, Clark, Ward, Meyler (C), Hoolahan (McGeady 79′), Hendrick, O’Dowda, Murphy (Arter 78′), Long (Maguire 83′). Booked: Arter.
Moldova:Cebanu, Epureanu,Racu, Bordian, Rozgoniuc, Anton, Gaţcan, Ioniţă, G�nsari, Dedov (Cociuc 55′), Plătică (Ambros 79′). Booked: Rozgoniuc. Sent off: Gaţcan.
Referee: Nijhuis Bas (Ned)

Wales V Republic of Ireland – 9 October 2017

Ireland produced a performance of real determination in Cardiff to beat Wales 1-0. It was a tight and tense affair and it took James McClean’s 57th minute strike to earn Ireland a crucial three points. The goal followied a superb run down the wing by Jeff Hendrick. At the endline, he whipped in an inviting ball into the box. Harry Arter produced a smart stepover to leave James McClean free to bury the ball past Wayne Hennessey in the Welsh goal. Man of the Match Shane Duffy put in a towering performance to keep the Welsh at bay. This win allied to results in other qualifying groups meant that Ireland had made the World Cup play offs.
Result: Wales 0-1 Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Christie, Duffy, Clark, Ward, Meyler (C), Hendrick, Murphy (Long 90’+1′), Arter (Whelan 78′), Brady, McClean. Booked: Randolph, Clark, Murphy, McClean, Meyler.
Wales: Wayne HENNESSEY, Chris GUNTER, Ben DAVIES, James CHESTER, Ashley WILLIAMS, (C), Joe ALLEN (Jonathan Williams 37′), Andrew KING (Benjamin WOODBURN 68′), Hal ROBSON-KANU (Sam VOKES 71′), Aaron RAMSEY, Joseph LEDLEY, Tom LAWRENCE. Booked: Allen.
Referee: Damir Skomina

World Cup 2018 Qualifying Campaign Results

Irish World Cup Qualifying Group Results

Number of Appearances and Goals Scored in Irish World Cup Qualifying Campaigns

Irish European Championship Qualifying Group Results

Number of Appearances and Goals Scored in Irish Euro Championship Finals Qualifying Campaigns