Republic of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup
The Republic of Ireland have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 1990, 1994, and 2002. They have always advanced from the group stage but have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals. Ireland holds the record for getting the furthest in the tournament without winning a single match.
Their first appearance was in Italy at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.[1][2][3][4][5] 1990 was also their best performance in a major championship, where they reached the quarter-finals.[6][7][8]
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Position | |
 1930 |
Did not enter | Declined participation | ||||||||||||||
 1934 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 3/3 | ||||||||
 1938 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2/2 | |||||||||
 1950 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2/3 | |||||||||
 1954 |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2/3 | |||||||||
 1958 |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2/3 | |||||||||
 1962 |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 3/3 | |||||||||
 1966 |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Lost Play-off | |||||||||
 1970 |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 4/4 | |||||||||
 1974 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2/3 | |||||||||
 1978 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3/3 | |||||||||
 1982 |
8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 3/5 | |||||||||
| 1986 |
8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4/5 | |||||||||
| 1990 |
Quarter-finals | 8th | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2/5 | |
 1994 |
Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 2/7 | |
| 1998 |
Did not qualify | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 11 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | ||||||||
  2002 |
Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 6 | 2/6; Won Play-off | |
| 2006 |
Did not qualify | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 4/6 | ||||||||
 2010 |
12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | |||||||||
| 2014 |
10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 17 | 4/6 | |||||||||
 2018 |
12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | |||||||||
 2022 |
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 3/5 | |||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2026 |
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 3/22 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 149 | 58 | 46 | 45 | 210 | 177 | — | |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
| List of FIFA World Cup matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result | Republic of Ireland scorers |
| 1990 | Group stage |  Republic of Ireland 1–1 England | Draw | Kevin Sheedy  73' |
Republic of Ireland 1–1  Netherlands | Draw | Niall Quinn 71' | ||
Republic of Ireland 0–0  Egypt | Draw | — | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 0–0 (5–4 p)  Romania | Draw | — | |
| Quarter-finals | Republic of Ireland 0–1 Italy | Loss | — | |
| 1994 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland 1–0 Italy | Win | Ray Houghton 11' |
| Republic of Ireland 1–2 Mexico | Loss | John Aldridge 84' | ||
Republic of Ireland 0–0  Norway | Draw | — | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 0–2 Netherlands | Loss | — | |
| 2002 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland 1–1  Cameroon | Draw | Matt Holland 52' |
| Republic of Ireland 1–1 Germany | Draw | Robbie Keane 90+2' | ||
Republic of Ireland 3–0  Saudi Arabia | Win | Robbie Keane 7' Gary Breen 61'Damien Duff 87' | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 1–1 (2–3 p) Spain | Draw | Robbie Keane 90' (pen.) | |
1990 World Cup
| ||
Group F
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Netherlands |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Egypt |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 |
Note: Republic of Ireland awarded second place by drawing of lots
| England | 1 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Lineker 8' |
(Report) | Sheedy 73' |
| Republic of Ireland | 0 – 0 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) |
| Netherlands | 1 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Gullit 10' |
(Report) | Quinn 71' |
1994 World Cup
| ||
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Italy |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Norway |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Italy | 0 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Houghton 11' |
| Mexico | 2 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| García 42' 65' |
(Report) | Aldridge 84' |
Knockout phase
| Netherlands | 2 – 0 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Bergkamp 11' Jonk 41' |
(Report) |
2002 World Cup
| ||
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 7 |
| Republic of Ireland |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 |
| Cameroon |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1 – 1 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Holland 52' |
(Report) | Mboma 39' |
| Germany | 1 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Klose 19' |
(Report) | Robbie Keane 90+2' |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 – 3 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Robbie Keane 7' Breen 61'Duff 87' |
Record players
Defender Steve Staunton has represented the Irish team in all of their thirteen World Cup matches, captaining the side in 2002.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Staunton | 13 | 1990, 1994, 2002 |
| 2 | Pat Bonner | 9 | 1990, 1994 |
| Ray Houghton | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| Paul McGrath | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| Andy Townsend | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| 6 | John Aldridge | 8 | 1990, 1994 |
| 7 | Niall Quinn | 7 | 1990, 2002 |
| 8 | Tony Cascarino | 6 | 1990, 1994 |
| Gary Kelly | 6 | 1994, 2002 | |
| Jason McAteer | 6 | 1994, 2002 |
Goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie Keane | 3 | 2002 |
| 2 | Niall Quinn | 1 | 1990 |
| Kevin Sheedy | 1 | 1990 | |
| John Aldridge | 1 | 1994 | |
| Ray Houghton | 1 | 1994 | |
| Gary Breen | 1 | 2002 | |
| Damien Duff | 1 | 2002 | |
| Matt Holland | 1 | 2002 |
References
- "1990 FIFA World Cup". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- "Ireland's Italia '90 squad - where are they now?". RTE Sport. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- "Niall Quinn: 'People can talk about the ramshackle Irish team, but we knew what the real story was'". Irish Examiner. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- "24 World Cup memories we won't forget from Italia '90". The 42. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- "On Second Thoughts: Italia 90". Guardian. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- "11 iconic images that bring back memories of the Italia 90 good times". The 42. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- "Where are Ireland's Italia 90 dream team now?". The 42. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- "Italia '90". Irish Times. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
External links
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