Heimir Hallgrímsson was preternaturally calm as Irish players and staff chased a shirtless Troy Parrott around the Puskás Aréna.
The conversation around Hallgrímsson being faith-healer or football-prophet was shelved by Parrott’s 96th-minute winner in Budapest as it put the Republic of Ireland among 16 nations scrapping for the four remaining World Cup spots.
The playoff draw takes place at Fifa headquarters in Zurich on Thursday.
The Ireland manager appeared to be a washout following defeat to Armenia in Yerevan last September, his easily forgettable 16-month stint set to be a footnote in the book of misery that covers the last 10 years of Irish football.
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Until Parrott’s goals shocked Portugal last Thursday, the media was drafting the next chapter. Surely, the FAI, under its new director of football John Martin, would learn from the haphazard recruitment process fronted by his predecessor Marc Canham. Hallgrímsson’s contract would not be renewed. No fanfare. Thank you for your service. Enjoy Indonesia.
That is where he was being linked to next. Having coached Iceland at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, reputationally he had credit in the bank from guiding Jamaica to the Copa America last year. The Irish gig could be explained as a lost cause he was unable to influence.
Then, from nowhere, Ireland’s 2-0 defeat of Portugal was followed by a 3-2 victory in Hungary on Sunday afternoon, a result that defied logic and propelled Parrott into the minds of sporting directors at big European clubs.
The FAI no longer have a decision to make about Hallgrímsson.
“If I ask, they probably will now [offer a new contract],” he said, leaning against the wall of the media room an hour after full-time. “I will finish my contract. Let’s do that first. I have told you, all the time, I plan to go to the World Cup. I hope you will start to believe that now as well.”
Not yet, Heimir. A healthy amount of scepticism remains ahead of the playoffs in March, it being 23 years since Ireland last qualified for the World Cup.
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“I have said to you guys from the beginning that I have belief in these guys,” he continued. “I know you have not. You have made fun of me saying it. Hopefully, now, you can see you have a really good team that can still grow.”
On that September night in Yerevan, when Ireland were overrun by Armenia and Hallgrímsson admitted to seeing “no light in the tunnel”, forced him to reshape the squad, recalling Séamus Coleman, Jayson Molumby and John Egan before reviving a defensive formation.
When Evan Ferguson joined Matt Doherty and Robbie Brady on the injury list, Parrott, Coleman and Liam Scales filled the void. Chiedozie Ogbene rediscovered his mojo, while Caoimhín Kelleher’s sticky gloves kept Ireland alive until the sixth minute of injury time in Budapest.
From Yerevan to Budapest via Dublin, here’s how Ireland fought their way to a place in the World Cup playoffs...
July 2024: Hallgrímsson was appointed under a cloud. After a 231-day recruitment process after Stephen Kenny’s contract was not renewed in November 2023, the public were beginning to suspect that the FAI did not know what they were doing.
July 10th: The day started with Damien Duff’s “I would raze Abbotstown to the ground” press conference in Tolka Park before the FAI announced a largely unknown Icelander as manager for the 2026 World Cup campaign.
July 11th: Hallgrímsson’s unveiling at the Aviva Stadium entered the familiar realm of farce as Canham claimed he was the association’s “number one candidate” all along, despite Lee Carsley, Roy Keane, Stephen Bradley, Gus Poyet and Duff revealing that they had been approached.
As he did not know enough about the Irish players ahead of the Nations League ties at home to England and Greece in September, the squad was selected by assistant coach John O’Shea.
Ireland did the double on Finland in Nations League B but they were humbled by Greece and England, home and away, with Scales’s sending off at Wembley leading to a 5-0 thumping.
“We lost our heads,” said Hallgrímsson.
March 2025: Hallgrímsson prefers Matt Doherty, Jake O’Brien and Jimmy Dunne as right-back options ahead of Coleman as Ireland outlast Bulgaria in a Nations League B/C relegation playoff. “I spoke to Séamus and he was obviously not thrilled with not being in the squad,” said Hallgrímsson.
August: Coleman is left out of the squad again for the opening World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia after the manager visited Everton’s training ground to see Jake O’Brien and the former Ireland skipper.
“Séamus is close to playing. He is in the [Everton] squad, and he really wants to come and help us. But it would just be a wrong example, picking a player who hasn’t played for almost a year. Hopefully by the October camp he is ready.”
Parrott missed the September qualifiers with a knee injury.
September 6th: Ireland 2 Hungary 2
Odd week. Hallgrímsson spoke about a confident panel, full of “club captains” until an inept display, led by skipper Nathan Collins, allowed Hungary take a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes before Adam Idah’s header in the 93rd salvaged a point.
September 9th: Armenia 2 Ireland 1
Disaster in Yerevan. Hallgrímsson’s big calls to start Jack Taylor and an unfit Ogbene backfired. Both players were replaced at half-time with the introductions of Killian Philips and Kasey McAteer highlighting the manager’s muddled tactical approach as both were dropped from future squads.
“The result is probably down to old scars,” said Hallgrímsson. “It’s a heavy shirt for them to carry. It’s difficult to see the light at this moment.”
Hallgrímsson subsequently postponed contract talks with the FAI. “Probably an agent or another coach would like to sign a long-term contract and then be fired or whatever, but I’m not that kind of way. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”
October 11th: Portugal 1 Ireland 0
Rúben Neves scored in the 91st minute to finally unlock the Irish low block. “Is the jersey not supposed to be heavy?” bristled Coleman after an inspirational 86-minute shift. “You are playing for Ireland. It’s pressure, but it’s amazing pressure.”
October 14th: Ireland 1 Armenia 0
“I would take playing a shitty game and win 1-0,” said Hallgrímsson before the same defensive approach used in Lisbon was employed at home against a country ranked 105th in the world. There were 20 minutes remaining when Ferguson bagged his third goal of the campaign.
October 29th: Ferguson exacerbated an ankle issue in the opening minutes of Roma’s Serie A tie against Parma.
November 13th: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Portugal
Parrott strikes twice before half-time as Cristiano Ronaldo is sent off for elbowing Dara O’Shea. The 40-year-old is lacerated in the Portuguese media for sarcastically clapping the Irish crowd, directing a fake-tears gesture at O’Shea and stalling to accuse Hallgrímsson of influencing Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg before he, slowly, walked down the tunnel.
“He complimented me for putting pressure on the referee,” said Hallgrímsson. “Nothing to do with me, unless I got into his head. Just a moment of silliness.”
November 16th: Hungary 2 Ireland 3
Parrott sheds “tears of joy” after his coolly taken hat-trick sparked an outpouring of happiness from Irish people all over the world.
“There are two people who have come into this camp recently, and that’s Séamus Coleman and John Egan, and the energy they have given us, the belief and faith they have put back into us when we were so down [after Yerevan] – credit to them,” said Collins after the win.
Hallgrímsson, having experienced similar journeys to major tournaments with Iceland and Jamaica, paraphrases the Bob Dylan line about there being no success like failure, and failure is no success at all.
“It is easy to lose yourself in joy. I don’t read the papers, I don’t use social media, but it is the same as when you lose games, you don’t read all the shit that is written about you. It would be sarcastic to start reading all these things when you achieve something.
“I know where we are, I know what this means. If we keep on growing, if we keep on winning, then it is not only about the chance to go to the World Cup. It will help the FAI financially; it will help all Irish football.
“I hope in 10 years people will look back and say: that’s the team that started this journey. Success is a constant journey, in the right direction.”
