Séamus Coleman Wants to Play for Republic of Ireland
Séamus Coleman has told Heimir Hallgrimsson he wants to keep playing for the Republic of Ireland – but not now, not like this.
Unattached since leaving Everton at the end of last season, the 37-year-old felt it would be "unfair" to take a place in the squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League window while he is without a club and training alone.
Coleman, whose 17-year stint at Goodison Park ended in May, has been working on his own since his contract expired. He spoke earlier this month on the Stick To Football podcast about staying in shape, but the reality remains: no club, no team training, and no competitive minutes. The same applies to his long-time international colleague Robbie Brady.
So when Hallgrimsson named his squad on Thursday for the four opening Nations League fixtures, Coleman's absence stood out. The manager quickly moved to explain it.
"My intention, in whatever shape or form that will be, he will be with us in the future, hopefully as a player. His intention is to play, he is keeping fit but he hasn't been training with a club or with a team," Hallgrimsson said.
"We felt, together, it was more his decision that it was appropriate he would sit out this one. Mostly because he felt it was unfair to other players that he would be picked at this moment."
Coleman and Brady are both actively seeking new clubs, and Hallgrimsson made clear the door remains wide open once they are back in the rhythm of club football.
Injuries, returns and a long wait
Captain Nathan Collins was always expected to miss this window after picking up a calf injury with Brentford earlier this month. Hallgrimsson offered a relatively upbeat update, indicating the defender should be ready to return for his club after the international break.
There was another glimmer of good news. Evan Ferguson and Josh Cullen, both out since November 2025, are edging closer to a comeback. Ferguson has been sidelined with ankle trouble, while Cullen has been recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury.
"They will probably start training on the grass with (their club teams) after the FIFA window sometime. So maybe next camp is their time," Hallgrimsson said, pointing towards the November window as a realistic target.
Bosun Lawal, the versatile Stoke City player with one senior cap, did make the cut despite carrying an injury. That alone underlined how highly the manager rates him.
"He is injured at the moment, but we still rate him that highly," Hallgrimsson said.
"We still want him in the camp, being with us and around us. I don't expect him to play much.
"But we are in collaboration with Stoke City, just to see how much he can do and will load him and hopefully he can take some part in the end of this camp.
"But we rate him that highly that we think it is necessary for him to be around the squad."
Lawal, then, is there for the experience, the meetings, the sessions, the feel of the group – a long-term investment rather than a short-term fix.
Kosovo, Israel and a moral dilemma
Ireland open their campaign away to Kosovo in Pristina next Thursday. After that, the fixture list turns political as much as sporting.
The second group game will be the first of two controversial meetings with Israel, both to be played at neutral venues – one in Hungary, the other in Serbia. The context around those fixtures has weighed heavily on players and staff.
Hallgrimsson chose to handle it quietly, one conversation at a time.
"I have spoken to all of them individually on that, because you shouldn't be doing this (in) a group talk," he said.
"And obviously we have different opinions, different strength of opinion. I think it's best to say, without going into individual (situations), none of us feel comfortable playing these games.
"But once we have decided to play them, we all stick together and play as one, and we want to represent Ireland with the best games and performances that we can.
"So that's just that's the agreement between all of us. But obviously, we don't have to all share the same opinion, and that's just human nature."
Reluctance, unity, and a shared commitment once the decision was made – that is the balance Ireland will carry into those neutral-venue ties.
Riding a quiet surge
Away from the politics and the absentees, Hallgrimsson is fiercely protective of something else: momentum.
UEFA’s restructure of the Nations League will remove automatic relegation from League B to League C, with the competition moving from four tiers to three. The jeopardy has shifted, but Ireland’s manager is not interested in treating this as a free hit.
"(There are) lots of reasons why we want to do really well in these Nations League matches," he said.
"Again, the importance of this moment, these games, we are on a good run, we are on a positive spiral, we (would) like to keep that going, (and) have not lost in the last seven matches. Long may that continue.
"We are conceding less goals and all the metrics that we are using to kind of look at how our performance is improving."
Seven games unbeaten. Fewer goals shipped. Numbers that finally back up a sense of progress.
Coleman, for now, will watch it from the outside, waiting for a club, waiting for a way back in. The question is simple and sharp: when Ireland’s next squad is named, will one of the team’s defining figures of the last decade be stepping back into the dressing room – or watching his international story edge towards its final chapter?
