Seamus Coleman Left Out of Republic of Ireland Squad for Nations League
Seamus Coleman has been left out of the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations League window, a notable omission for a player who has been at the heart of the national team for more than a decade.
The 37-year-old, capped 81 times, is currently without a club after bringing a 17-year spell at Everton to an end following the 2025-26 season. He signed off at Goodison Park with 433 appearances for the Toffees, a figure that underlines the scale of his career on Merseyside.
Coleman featured in June’s international friendlies and remained part of the dressing-room fabric, but his name is missing from Heimir Hallgrimsson’s 26-man selection for a demanding four-game stretch.
Nations League Schedule
Ireland open their Nations League campaign away to Kosovo on 24 September, then head to Israel on 27 September before hosting Austria on 1 October. A second meeting with Israel in Group B3 follows on 4 October, rounding off a congested schedule that might have tested even a fully match-sharp veteran.
Hallgrimsson made it clear this is not a farewell. Far from it.
"It is my intention in whatever shape or form that he [Coleman] would be with us in the future, hopefully as a player," the Ireland manager said as he unveiled his squad on Thursday.
Coleman, still training to maintain his fitness but not attached to a club, played a central role in the decision.
"His intention is to play, he's keeping fit but he hasn't been training with a club so we felt together, and it was more his decision, that it would be appropriate he sit out this one, mostly because he thought it was unfair to other players that he would be taking up a place," Hallgrimsson added.
The veteran right-back is not the only experienced figure missing. Robbie Brady is also absent as he, too, remains without a club.
Captain Nathan Collins is sidelined through injury, a calf problem picked up in Brentford's 1-1 Premier League draw with Sunderland on 5 September ruling him out of this window. The injury list runs deeper: Evan Ferguson (ankle), Josh Cullen (knee), Jack Taylor (knee), Mikey Johnston (ankle) and Oisin McEntee are all unavailable. QPR defender Jimmy Dunne suffered a muscular injury earlier this month and also misses out.
The absences have opened the door for new faces.
Sheffield United loanee Liam Kitching earns his first senior call-up. The left-sided centre-back is on a season-long loan from Coventry City and now has a chance to stake a claim in a reshaped defensive unit.
Uncapped Cardiff City defender Joel Bagan and Sligo Rovers’ Owen Elding are also included and could make their international debuts across the four matches, as Ireland juggle a heavy schedule with a squad that suddenly looks younger, lighter on caps, and full of opportunity.
Coleman, for once, will be watching from the outside. The question now is whether this is a brief pause before one last chapter in green, or the quiet beginning of the end to one of Ireland’s most enduring international careers.
