Séamus Coleman Steps Aside for Ireland's Nations League Matches

Séamus Coleman has told Heimir Hallgrimsson he wants to keep playing for the Republic of Ireland – but the veteran defender has stepped aside for the upcoming Nations League window because he feels it would be “unfair” to take a place while unattached to a club.

Coleman’s 17-year stay at Everton ended at the close of last season, bringing down the curtain on a remarkable spell on Merseyside. The Donegal native turns 38 next month and, like international team-mate Robbie Brady, is still searching for a new employer.

He has been training alone to stay in shape, as he revealed on the Stick To Football podcast earlier this month, yet his name was missing when Hallgrimsson announced his squad on Thursday for Ireland’s four opening UEFA Nations League fixtures.

The omission was not a sign of a quiet retirement.

“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 at his press conference, confirming both Coleman and Brady are actively looking for clubs.

This was a decision made with Coleman’s trademark sense of responsibility.

“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,” the Ireland boss explained.

Injuries bite, but November hope for Ferguson and Cullen

Captain Nathan Collins was always likely to miss out. The Brentford defender suffered a calf injury earlier this month and was not considered for selection, though Hallgrimsson expects him to be back in club colours once the international break is over.

There was a more upbeat tone when the conversation turned to Evan Ferguson and Josh Cullen. Both have been sidelined since November 2025, Ferguson with an ankle problem and Cullen following 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 to the November window as a realistic target.

One player who did make the squad, despite carrying a knock, is Stoke City’s Bosun Lawal. The versatile youngster has just a single senior cap, and Hallgrimsson admitted his involvement on the pitch is likely to be limited this time.

“He is injured at the moment, but we still rate him that highly,” he 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.”

Private talks over Israel fixtures

Ireland open their Nations League campaign away to Kosovo in Pristina next Thursday. After that, attention turns to two politically charged group games against Israel, both moved to neutral venues in Hungary and Serbia.

Hallgrimsson has already gone player by player to discuss the situation.

“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.”

Momentum meets a changing Nations League

Off the pitch, UEFA’s decision to restructure the Nations League has altered the landscape. The competition will drop from four tiers to three, removing the threat of automatic relegation from League B to League C that hung over previous campaigns.

Hallgrimsson, though, is treating this window as a live test of his team’s progress, not 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.”

Ireland head into Kosovo with form, a reshaped competition, and a captain-in-waiting training alone back home. Coleman has stepped aside for now out of fairness to others. The real question is how ready he – and Ireland – will be when that next camp comes around.