The UEFA Nations League 2026-27 campaign gets under this week and I don’t think we have ever seen so such uncertainty about some of the opposition for The Republic and Northern Ireland in this window where each team will have four games in a hectic 10-day period. Tomorrow, the Republic play their first-ever senior international against Kosovo in Pristina and then on Sunday our away game against Israel will be played in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. Our “home” game against Israel on Oct. 4 will be played in the Serbian town of Backa Topola, three days after we play hosts to Austria in Dublin.
Northern Ireland open their campaign against Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday and on Monday they welcome Hungary to Windsor Park. Their game against Georgia will be played behind closed doors, although Uefa rules allow for up to 200 visiting supporters to attend the fixture in such a scenario. The Georgian FA were hit with sanctions after multiple breaches of Uefa regulations and crowd disorder from a game against Armenia last year. Then on Oct. 2 the North’s game against Ukraine will be played in the Slovakia town of Trnava. Northern Ireland will then host Georgia in Belfast on Oct. 5.
Over the next two months events off the field will probably garner more headlines than the games. Irish manager Heimi Hallgrimsson has omitted captain Nathan Collins and former captains Seamus Coleman for the first four games. Collins is injured and Coleman does not have a club right now. Speaking of Coleman’s omission last week Hallgrimsson said: “It was more his decision than me. Seamus felt it would be unfair to other players.” There is a first call up for English-born central defender Liam Kitching, who is currently on loan to Sheffield United from Coventry. Kitching, who was born in Harrogate in Yorkshire, qualifies for Ireland through his Kildare-born grandmother. He will be 27 next Saturday. There are two other uncapped players in the squad, Cardiff’s Joel Bagan and Hibernian’s Owen Elding, who has had to wait a while for his Irish passport. Heimir says the Irish squad feel uncomfortable about participating in their contentious Nations League fixtures with Israel but they have collectively decided to ‘stick together’ and play the games. Heimir added: “Without going into individuals, none of us feel comfortable playing these games but once we have decided to play them, we all stick together and play as one. That’s the agreement with all of us. Obviously, we don’t all have to share the same opinion and that’s just human nature.”
Meanwhile Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has included 18 year-old Arsenal striker Céadach O’Neill in his squad for their upcoming Nations League games. The Derry-born player, who joined the Gunners from Linfield, won two caps at the end of last season. The striker’s international future has been under the spotlight lately with the FAI apparently not giving up hope on the player switching allegiance. The FAI have reportedly made an approach to the Irish FA in an attempt to lure O’Neill away. But after including Céadach in his squad this week, O’Neill said: ‘‘Ceadach has been in our pathway since he has been a young boy. He has obviously had an approach from another association, which happens.’’ In the past a player could not switch nations once they had earned a senior cap in a competitive match. But a new rule introduced in 2021 by Fifa allows players who have played up to three senior international caps prior to the age of 21 to switch nations.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill. [Inpho/Presseye/Jonathan Porter]
