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Keane was part of the squad that participated in the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship although he did not play.[72] He was man of the match for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 team when they beat hosts Hungary in the 1990 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship to qualify for the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship. When called up for his first game at international level, an under-21s match against Turkey in 1991, Keane took an immediate dislike to the organisation and preparation surrounding the Irish team, later describing the set-up as “a bit of a joke”. He would continue to hold this view throughout the remainder of his time spent with the national team, which led to numerous confrontations with the Irish management. Keane declared his unavailability to travel with the Irish squad to Algeria, but was surprised when manager Jack Charlton told him that he would never play for Ireland again if he refused to join up with his compatriots.[10] Despite this threat, Keane chose to stay at home on the insistence of Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, and was pleased when a year later he was called up to the Irish squad for a friendly at Lansdowne Road. After more appearances, he grew to disapprove of Charlton’s style of football, which relied less on the players’ skill and more on continuous pressing and direct play. Tensions between the two men peaked during a pre-season tournament in the United States, when Charlton berated Keane for returning home late after a drinking session with Steve Staunton. Keane was included in the Republic of Ireland senior squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. and played in every game, including a famous 1–0 victory over tournament favourites and eventual runners-up Italy. Despite a second-round exit at the hands of the Netherlands, the tournament was considered a success for the Irish team, and Keane was named the best player of Ireland’s campaign. Keane, however, was reluctant to join the post-tournament celebrations, later claiming that, as far as he was concerned, Ireland’s World Cup was a disappointment: “There was nothing to celebrate. We achieved little.” Keane missed crucial matches during the 1998 World Cup qualification matches due to a severe knee injury, but came back to captain the team to within a whisker of qualifying for UEFA Euro 2000, losing to Turkey in a play-off. Ireland secured qualification for the 2002 World Cup under new manager Mick McCarthy, greatly assisted by a number of match-winning performances from Keane. In the process of qualification, Ireland went undefeated, both home and away, against international football heavyweights Portugal and the Netherlands, famously beating the latter 1–0 at Lansdowne Road.
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This style of shirt with the name on the back was never used by the team. The team used shirts with only the number on the back but shirts with name on were issued for the players as well.
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English-born Kiely played for England at under-15 (13 caps), under-16 (13 caps) and under-17 (four caps) levels. He made one appearance for Republic of Ireland B, starting in a 4–3 win over League of Ireland XI on 9 February 1999, in which he was substituted for Nick Colgan. He went on to represent the Republic of Ireland at full international level, earning his first cap as a substitute in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-off against Turkey in November 1999. He retired from international football in February 2003,[27] but in April 2008 Ireland’s assistant manager Liam Brady suggested that Kiely could make a return to the squad. The rumours were then confirmed when he returned to the Ireland squad in Giovanni Trapattoni’s first squad as manager in May 2008. He won his first cap in five years when he appeared in the Republic’s 1–1 draw with Serbia that month, playing the full 90 minutes. On 28 May 2009, he walked out of the Ireland squad after Trapattoni informed him that he would be replacing Shay Given with Keiren Westwood for the second half of the friendly International against Nigeria at Craven Cottage on 29 May. He was capped 11 times by the Republic of Ireland, last appearing in 2008.
IRELAND NATIONAL TEAM
Euro 2012 Qualifying Game
Ireland vs Italy
Match Worn Shirt
St Ledger Sean
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Born and raised in England, St Ledger is eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland because his grandfather is from Carlow.[citation needed] Shortly joining Preston, St Ledger called up by Manager Steve Staunton, which he described it as “it doesn’t get any better than this.” After being called up by newly Manager Giovanni Trapattoni, He made his debut in a friendly against Nigeria at Craven Cottage on 29 May 2009, and played his first competitive match a week later, a 1–1 draw away to Bulgaria in a qualifying game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. St Ledger scored his first goal for Ireland in a 2–2 with Italy at Croke Park, Dublin, in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in October 2009. The goal gave Ireland a late lead against the World Champions and was almost St Ledger’s “Ray Houghton” moment, guaranteeing him iconic status in only his sixth appearance, only for Alberto Gilardino to score an even later equaliser for the Italians. On 12 October 2010, St Ledger scored his second goal for Ireland in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovakia which finished 1–1. On 10 June 2012, he scored his third international goal against Croatia in Ireland’s first group stage game at UEFA Euro 2012. His header was the equaliser to make the score 1–1 after Ireland had fallen behind in the first half, though they lost the game 3–1. It turned out to be the team’s only goal of the competition, as they exited the group stage with three defeats from three games and nine goals conceded.