Having bided his time, to the consternation of Irish fans, before breaking into the Republic set-up, Seamus Coleman has been rewarded with a nomination for international player-of-the-year. The Everton defender is up for the award alongside goalkeeper David Forde and captain Robbie Keane.
With Liverpool’s signing of Simon Mignolet, we thought the door had opened for Keiren Westwood to reclaim the goalkeeper’s jersey for both club and country. However, Sunderland’s recruitment of Vito Mannone puts the pressure back on the Irish international who has watched from the sidelines as David Forde has grown into his role as Ireland’s ‘keeper of the faith.
Many expected our World Cup hopes to be dashed in Sweden. Instead, the Irish team shocked us with their display in Stockholm and they take on Austria on Tuesday with an opportunity to put us firmly in the play-off spot. How did that happen? Here’s ten talking points.