Uncapped Harvey Vale included in Hallgrímsson's Ireland squad for World Cup play-offs

LAST UPDATE | 17 hrs ago

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has included two uncapped players in his 25-man squad ahead of next Thursday’s World Cup play-off away to Czechia.

QPR attacker Harvey Vale has been called up for the first time, with the former England underage international having received Fifa clearance to switch his allegiance six days go.

A left-footed player who primarily operates off the right-hand side for his club, Vale has scored three goals and laid on five assists in 24 first-team appearances for the English Championship club this season.

The 22-year-old, who captained England to an U19 Euros title in 2022, qualifies for Ireland via a grandparent.

I talked to him over a year ago, when I was at Queen’s Park [Rangers]“, said Hallgrimsson. “He expressed a desire to play for Ireland at that time, he was injured at that time. We have been watching him since then. He has been growing by every game, it’s a perfect time to bring him into this squad now. We see him as a potential decent player for us. Good player, good person, hard-working guy, creator of chances, scoring goals. I’m looking forward to start working with Harvey.” 

Vale came through the ranks at Chelsea, for whom he made seven senior appearances, the last of which came against Shamrock Rovers in the Uefa Conference League in December 2024.

Barnsley forward David McGoldrick has not been recalled despite last week expressing his willingness to end his international retirement, but Swansea City striker Adam Idah has been deemed sufficiently fit for inclusion. While McGoldrick made himself available when contacted by John O’Shea, Hallgrimsson said the Barnsley striker was considered as a back-up option and was not included in the provisional squad. 

Middlesbrough midfielder Alan Browne is back in the reckoning, as is Robbie Brady, who returned to action with Preston in February and is continuing to work his way back to match fitness.

Liam Scales has been included in Hallgrímsson’s squad despite being suspended for next Thursday’s meeting with Czechia at Prague’s Fortuna Arena. The Celtic defender would be available to face either Denmark or North Macedonia in the event that Ireland were to advance to a play-off final.

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However, Festy Ebosele, who is in the same boat as Scales in terms of suspension, has been omitted this time around having fallen out of favour with his club, Turkish side Istanbul Başakşehir, in recent months.

Uncapped former U21 goalkeeper Josh Keeley has been called up once again to Hallgrímsson’s squad.

The Dunboyne native, who plays for League One side Luton Town, received his first senior call-up for last June’s friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg, having previously trained with the senior team 12 months earlier.

Keeley, who began his professional career at St Patrick’s Athletic, has kept 11 clean sheets in 38 first-team appearances for Luton this season.

Speaking to the media, Hallgrimsson stressed this squad was selected primarily for the challenge of Czechia, and said there may be changes to the selection depending on the opponent in Ireland’s potential play-off final opponent. That fact is highlighted by his choosing the uncapped Stoke midfielder Bosun Lawal over Charlton’s Conor Coventry among his midfielders.

“He is physical and taller, he can cope with what we expect what this game will be about”, said Hallgrimsson. Lawal has been sidelined with injury lately and Stoke boss Mark Robins has said he wants Lawal to remain at the club rather than link-up with Ireland, but Hallgrimsson said Lawal is fit to join the squad. “He’s ready to come, and that’s what matters to us, not what his coach thinks”, said Hallgrimsson. 

The Irish boss was also keen to put Ireland’s Prague challenge in perspective, citing Czechia’s superior Fifa ranking – they are 16 places above Ireland – and their recent home record, in which they’ve won 15 and lost just one of their last 18 games. He also pointed to the fact new coach Miroslav Koubek has cancelled this weekend’s round of league fixtures to allow home-based players link up with the national squad ahead of time as another advantage for Ireland’s opponents. 

“They are a physical team; there’s big energy in that team, tall players, good at set plays.

“They have the know-how to qualify, and a good mix of players: older players and then young, exciting ones. I would say it was clever for the association in Czechia to hire Miroslav Koubek; 74-year-old with all the know-how, knows Czech football inside out.

“What he has done since he started, many of those things are clever. He picks not only good players, he picks players that are ready for war. He talks about this game as a war, players need to be ready for a war against us. [There are] not many weaknesses in the Czech team. Maybe a little bit last camp was instability, but this coach is probably going to bring that back. He means business.

“They will be expected to win at home, losing is not an option. You saw that when they fired their coach, even though they lost a game that didn’t matter at all, it was too much for them to lose. It just shows their mentality, how they think, how they see this game. We have to be ready for that.” 

With reporting by Gavin Cooney

Republic of Ireland squad for World Cup play-offs

Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Mark Travers (Everton), Josh Keeley (Luton Town).

Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Jimmy Dunne (QPR), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Jake O’Brien (Everton), John Egan (Hull City), James Abankwah (Watford), Liam Scales (Celtic), Robbie Brady (Preston North End), Ryan Manning (Southampton).

Midfielders: Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Bosun Lawal (Stoke City), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Alan Browne (Middlesbrough), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Finn Azaz (Southampton), Harvey Vale (QPR).

Attackers: Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Johnny Kenny (Bolton Wanderers, on loan from Celtic), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United, on loan from Ipswich Town), Sammie Szmodics (Derby County, on loan from Ipswich Town)