Seamus Coleman Omitted from 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 long been at the heart of the national side.
The 37-year-old, without a club since bringing a 17-year spell at Everton to an end after the 2025-26 season, was involved as recently as June in Ireland’s international friendlies. He has 81 caps, 433 Everton appearances and a reputation as one of the team’s standard-bearers. This time, his name is missing from a 26-man group.
Upcoming Fixtures
Ireland face a demanding run: away to Kosovo on 24 September, then Israel on 27 September, Austria on 1 October, and a second meeting with Israel in Group B3 on 4 October. It is a block of fixtures where experience usually matters. Coleman will watch it from the outside.
Manager's Statement
Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson stressed that this is not a closing of the door.
“It is my intention in whatever shape or form that he [Coleman] would be with us in the future, hopefully as a player,” Hallgrimsson said as he unveiled his squad on Thursday.
The decision, Hallgrimsson explained, was taken in tandem with the former captain. Coleman has been training to stay in shape but has not been working with a club squad since leaving Everton.
“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.”
Other Absentees
Coleman is not the only senior figure missing. Robbie Brady is also absent as he, too, is currently without a club. Captain Nathan Collins will sit out the games as he recovers from a calf injury picked up in Brentford's 1-1 Premier League draw with Sunderland on 5 September.
The casualty list runs deeper. Evan Ferguson (ankle), Josh Cullen (knee), Jack Taylor (knee), Mikey Johnston (ankle) and Oisin McEntee have all been ruled out through injury. QPR defender Jimmy Dunne suffered a muscular problem earlier this month and is another who will not be involved.
New Faces
The gaps have opened the door for others.
Sheffield United loanee Liam Kitching receives his first call-up, a significant step for the left-sided centre-back currently on a season-long loan from Coventry City. Uncapped Cardiff City defender Joel Bagan and Owen Elding of Sligo Rovers are also included and could make their senior debuts during this four-game stretch.
An Ireland squad stripped of some of its most familiar names now leans on fresh faces and returning fringe players. The question is whether this changing of the guard is temporary – or the first real sign of a new era taking hold.
