International Friendly Preview: Republic of Ireland -v- Senegal – The Home of Irish Football

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Heimir Halgrímsson’s Republic of Ireland side begin a series of two friendlies when they host Senegal at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm). They conclude with a trip to Luxembourg on Tuesday.

These games will serve as a warmup for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers which will begin in September with a home fixture against Hungary.

Friday’s game will also be the first since Ireland retained their UEFA Nations League B status with a 4-2 aggregate win over Bulgaria with Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah netting in front of the home fans in the second leg.

These fixtures will give the Ireland manager a chance to experiment somewhat with John Joe Patrick Finn, Josh Keeley and Killian Phillips all included in the squad for the first time.

Shamrock Rovers defender Josh Honohan is also in line for a first Ireland cap with his first call up.

Seamus Coleman and Sammie Szmodics had both returned to the squad but Halgrímsson was dealt a blow in the past week as both players have dropped out of the squad due to injury. Blackburn Rover’s Andrew Moran has joined the squad.

The Boys in Green are at least not without stiff competition in the final third with Evan Ferguson, Adam Idah and Troy Parrott all included. The latter two in particular showing decent form for their clubs in recent months.

“I think whatever the manager chooses, to be honest, works for us. It’s all friendly competition as we all get along really well,” Idah said, speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference this week.

“The three of us can do our bit. We’re three different types of strikers, which is good to have. Regardless of who starts, we know we’ve got fresh legs on the bench. All of us seem to be doing really well by scoring goals and that’s brilliant to have.”

SENEGAL

The Lions of Teranga come to Dublin in spectacular form, they are on a 20 match unbeaten run going back to October 2023.

Senegal are also the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Champions and will provide a stern test for Ireland as they look to impress before the challenge of World Cup Qualifiers begins later this year.

They will be without star man Sadio Mané, the former Liverpool striker has 111 caps and has opted to not join up with the squad for their friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and England.

In their last fixture they secured a 2-0 win over Togo with Tottenham Hotspur striker Pape Sarr netting for Senegal, and an own goal providing the second goal.

There are a number of notable players making the trip to Dublin with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, Ismaila Sarr and Pape Sarr all included in the squad, all three have helped their clubs – Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Spurs to silverware this season.

Captain, and former Napoli and Chelsea defender, Kalidou Koulibaly is also travelling. The 33 year old is an imposing presence at the back for Senegal. Now playing for Al-Hilal, he has made over 90 appearances for the national team.