It’s a measure of the respect in which the Nations League is held that Heimir Hallgrímsson was actually asked the day before this game whether relegation to League C would even matter. Thankfully Ireland are not in the “maybe it would be better if we just lost?” zone just yet, and a 2-1 win in Bulgaria – the second come-from-behind away win under the Icelander – means League B is where we are likely to find ourselves when this silly competition begins again in 2026.
Hallgrímsson surprised everybody by picking Ryan Manning to start on the left of midfield – the Southampton full-back hadn’t even made the initial squad - while leaving out Evan Ferguson, and Manning had an eventful start to the match. After three minutes Finn Azaz found him at the far post with a deep left-footed cross, but his header went straight at Bulgarian keeper Dimitar Mitov.
Moments later Manning was involved - or rather, not involved enough - at the other end as Bulgaria took the lead. On one level Bulgaria’s goal was a lovely piece of play but Ireland’s defending throughout was bizarre. Throughout the move Nathan Collins was positioned several yards behind the rest of the defence, unable to influence play other than by playing people onside. Meanwhile Manning watched from midfield like an embedded journalist.
Filip Krastev held off Dara O’Shea, moved right along the edge of the Irish penalty area, then rolled the ball with his studs back into the space he had had vacated. Marin Petkov, running from the inside right position, arrived at the edge of the box and cracked it in off the foot of Kelleher’s left-hand post. Manning had a perfect view of the shot from his stationary position behind all this action.
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It was an undignified way for the game to begin but Ireland picked themselves up and tried to put themselves back together. The system was 4-4-2 out of possession but when Ireland had the ball they shifted into something else, with Brady pushing up high and Josh Cullen dropping to the left-back area to help with the build-up. And for once they didn’t have to wait long for the equaliser.
Last week, when Hallgrímsson invited journalists into the FAI boardroom to show off his new player database, the player profile he clicked into apparently at random was that of Azaz. The notes on Azaz included “better attacking than defending” plus some other comments in Icelandic, but what really caught the eye were his statistics for Middlesbrough in the Championship: 36 games, 10 goals, 11 assists.
Maybe the choice of Azaz was foreshadowing. He started here for his sixth cap and on 21 minutes, he had his first goal for Ireland. The build-up featured a nice crossfield ball by Doherty and then another deep cross from the left by Brady. Troy Parrott had lost his marker at the back post and sent Brady’s ball back into the centre with a beautifully controlled sidefoot volley that gave Azaz, arriving into the middle, a simple chance to head home.
That assist by Parrott was a moment of real quality and this was the 23-year old’s best performance for Ireland so far. His movement was sharp, creating passing opportunities for team-mates with his runs, he looked confident and full of ideas. You could see how he is the second-top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie: this performance demonstrated what regular first-team action can do for a player.
On 35 minutes Ireland won a free kick when Azaz was shoved in the back. As the players gathered in the left side of the area anticipating a lofted diagonal delivery, Parrott suddenly dashed towards the unoccupied right side and Mikey Johnston found him with a quick pass. Parrott’s cross-shot flashed across goal with Collins inches from connecting at the far post. It was an encouraging sign of invention and initiative from Ireland.
A couple of minutes later another intelligent run and cut-back by Parrott created a shooting chance for Brady which was blocked, but Ireland didn’t have long to wait for the lead goal. It came out of almost nothing, with Josh Cullen lofting a pass towards the edge of the box, but the Bulgarian defenders had not spotted Matt Doherty’s run from deep and the Irish full-back got his head to it just before the onrushing Mitov crashed into him, the ball bouncing into the unguarded net as the Bulgarian keeper crumpled to the ground. Doherty was unscathed but Mitov had to be replaced at half-time.
[ Match report: Clinical Ireland secure rare victory on the road in BulgariaOpens in new window ]
The second half started better for Ireland than the first and after a while an unfamiliar feeling . . . was this . . . comfortable superiority? It was not that comfortable for Robbie Brady, who burst his nose against the back of a Bulgarian skull while bravely winning a header and played the rest of the match with his left nostril packed with wadding. But Ireland were unmistakably putting on a lower-League B-level clinic, denying the League C hopefuls any sight of goal.
Between 76 and 79 minutes Hallgrimsson made five substitutions, Ferguson, Mark Sykes, Jack Taylor, Jake O’Brien and the debutant Rocco Vata all coming on. The team closed out the game efficiently and it looks like League B won’t be seeing the last of Ireland just yet.
