Republic of Ireland Squad at 1994 World Cup Finals

The Irish football squad that Jack Charlton brought to the USA for the 1994 World Cup finals was even more experienced than the Irish 1990 World Cup squad that he brought to Italy. This was despite the presence of the ‘three amigos’ Jason McAteer, Phil Babb and Gary Kelly who were 23, 23 and 19 respectively and had just 13 caps amongst them. Roy Keane was just 22 but he had amassed 22 caps by then.

Despite the presence of these young guns the average age of the squad was 28.6 years and the average number of caps was almost 32. Nine players were in their thirties including the eldest member of the squad, 38 year old Kevin Moran.

A cruciate injury prevented Niall Quinn making the Irish squad. This denied Jack Charlton and the team access to one of the most potent aspects of the game plan that the Irish employed in those days.

Jack Charlton’s approach to football was to hit long balls in the direction of a tall forward who was commanding in the air. On-rushing midfielders would latch on to the knock-downs from the forward and threaten the opponents goal. Niall Quinn was forced to content himself with a position in the RTE commentary box.

Republic of Ireland Squad Details

Ireland & 1990 World Cup Finals – Irish Squad World Cup 1990
Ireland V England 1990 – Ireland V Egypt 1990 – Ireland V Holland 1990
Ireland V Romania 1990 – Ireland V Italy 1990
Ireland & 1994 World Cup Finals – Irish Squad World Cup 1994
Ireland V Italy 1994 – Ireland V Mexico 1994 – Ireland V Norway 1994 – Ireland V Netherlands 1994
Ireland & 2002 World Cup Finals – 2002 World Cup Irish Squad – 2002 World Cup Irish Group Matches
Ireland V Cameroon 2002 – Ireland V Germany 2002 – Ireland V Saudi Arabia 2002 – Ireland V Spain 2002