Ireland will not be progressing to the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a defeat to Czechia last night, Thursday, March 26.
The Boys in Green put on a formidable effort at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, but ultimately lost the European Qualifiers Play-Off Semi-Final match on penalties, 4-3.
Ireland started the match strong, cruising to a 2-0 lead in normal time, thanks to a Troy Parrott penalty and a Matěj Kovář own goal.
However, things took a turn after a spot-kick by Patrik Schick and a late equalizer by Ladislav Krejčí, which sent the match to extra time.
With no goals made during extra time, the decider came down to penalty shots.
Troy Parrott, Adam Idah, and Robbie Brady all landed their penalty shots, while Caoimhín Kelleher saved from Mojmír Chytil. However, Kovář then denied both Finn Azaz and Alan Browne, allowing Jan Kliment to step up and score the decisive penalty to win the shootout for Czechia.
Our campaign comes to a close after a penalty shootout defeat in Prague. pic.twitter.com/z6EW6ERpnz
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 26, 2026
"It's just pain, we only feel pain, of course," Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson told RTÉ after the match.
"When you go this far, it's up to luck and up to the flip of a coin.
"We had our first six or seven penalty takers ready, and most of them were on the pitch, we had planned for this."
He added: "I feel pain, but I feel pride for the performance of the players, who gave it their all. I feel gratitude towards the supporters who showed up and supported us during the whole game, even after the loss. I feel pride at being a part of that group."
Vice Captain Séamus Coleman remarked: "It was a physical game. They played a lot of long balls, and so did we. We could have probably put our foot on the ball more at times. We'll dust ourselves down, but it's going to take a little time."
Parrott, who became an Irish legend after scoring five goals in the previous two games, was emotional after Thursday's defeat: "We knew how much this meant to everyone.
"I'm just really, really gutted that we couldn't do it for everyone that has supported us.
"All of the Irish that are here, all of the Irish that are back home, that have been supporting us, thank you. Stick with us.
"It's times like this where I'm so, so happy where I come from.
"We just said in the changing room that now is the time to stick together as a group because we have some really, really good players, and we'll be back for sure."
“Thank you, stick with us. It’s times like this where I’m so, so happy where I come from” ☘️
Together through the highs & the lows 💚 pic.twitter.com/Jkn3lIbpNK
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 27, 2026
Ireland is now set to play North Macedonia, who lost their play-off semi-final to Denmark on Thursday, in a friendly in Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Tuesday. Though both teams are no longer in contention for the World Cup, they will be playing as UEFA rules dictate that in each International window, teams must play at least two games.
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