Parrott and Coleman return to Irish squad ahead of Portugal clash

Troy Parrott, Seamus Coleman and John Egan have been named in Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Republic of Ireland squad ahead of the upcoming international window, which commences with a daunting trip to face Portugal in Lisbon.

The squad contains seven changes in total from last month’s window, in which Ireland suffered a sickening 2-1 loss away to fourth seeds Armenia, which sparked a wave of criticism and has severely damaged any prospects of reaching next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Parrott, who had made a terrific start to the season with AZ Alkmaar before being sidelined with a knee ligament injury, is named in the squad on the basis that he is nearing a return, with hopes that he will feature in the Eredivisie this weekend. He will be assessed by the FAI medical team on his arrival into camp.

In his press conference accompanying the squad announcement, Hallgrimsson said that Parrott would not be available for the trip to Portugal but would hopefully be eligible for the Armenia home game.

Everton defender Coleman returns to the squad for the first time in over a year, the 36-year old full-back replacing the injured Matt Doherty.

Even more notably, Hull City’s John Egan is back in for the first time since September 2023.

The 33-year old centre-half, a regular in the EFL Championship, has yet to feature for Ireland in Hallgrimsson’s reign, his inclusion coming in the wake of Ireland’s poor defensive display in Yerevan.

In Ireland’s last competitive match away to Portugal, in Faro in September 2021, it was Egan’s first-half header which put the visitors 1-0 up, a lead they retained until the dying minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice.

Festy Ebosele, now playing with Istanbul Baseksehir, returns from injury, while Callum O’Dowda is rewarded for his fine form with Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and is named in the 24-man squad.

There are two changes in midfield, with both Jason Knight and Bosun Lawal ruled out through injury. West Brom’s Jayson Molumby makes a return, as does Will Smallbone, currently at Millwall.

After facing Portugal in the opening match of the window on Saturday (11 Oct), they host Armenia in Dublin three days later (14 Oct).

Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Everton)

Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), John Egan (Hull City), Ryan Manning (Southampton), Callum O’Dowda (Ferencvaros).

Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Will Smallbone (Millwall), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Finn Azaz (Southampton).

Forwards: Evan Ferguson (AS Roma), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United), Festy Ebosele (İstanbul Başakşehir), Kasey McAteer (Ipswich Town).