The Republic of Ireland have appeared in the Men's FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 1990, 1994, and 2002. They have always advanced from the group stage but have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals.
Their first appearance was in Italy at the 1990 Men's FIFA World Cup. 1990 was also their best performance in a major championship, where they reached the quarter-finals, despite not winning a single match in 90 minutes.
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Position | |
| 1930 | Did not enter | Declined participation | ||||||||||||||
| 1934 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 3/3 | ||||||||
| 1938 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2/2 | |||||||||
| 1950 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2/3 | |||||||||
| 1954 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2/3 | |||||||||
| 1958 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2/3 | |||||||||
| 1962 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 3/3 | |||||||||
| 1966 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Lost Play-off | |||||||||
| 1970 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 4/4 | |||||||||
| 1974 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2/3 | |||||||||
| 1978 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3/3 | |||||||||
| 1982 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 3/5 | |||||||||
| 1986 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4/5 | |||||||||
| 1990 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2/5 | |
| 1994 | Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 2/7 | |
| 1998 | Did not qualify | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 11 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | ||||||||
| 2002 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 6 | 2/6; Won Play-off | |
| 2006 | Did not qualify | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 4/6 | ||||||||
| 2010 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | |||||||||
| 2014 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 17 | 4/6 | |||||||||
| 2018 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 2/6; Lost Play-off | |||||||||
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 3/5 | |||||||||
| 2026 | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| 2030 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2034 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 3/25 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 149 | 58 | 46 | 45 | 210 | 177 | — | |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
| List of FIFA World Cup matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result | Republic of Ireland scorers |
| 1990 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland 1–1 England | Draw | Kevin Sheedy 73' |
| Republic of Ireland 1–1 Netherlands | Draw | Niall Quinn 71' | ||
| Republic of Ireland 0–0 Egypt | Draw | — | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 0–0 (5–4 p) Romania | Draw | — | |
| Quarter-finals | Republic of Ireland 0–1 Italy | Loss | — | |
| 1994 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland 1–0 Italy | Win | Ray Houghton 11' |
| Republic of Ireland 1–2 Mexico | Loss | John Aldridge 84' | ||
| Republic of Ireland 0–0 Norway | Draw | — | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 0–2 Netherlands | Loss | — | |
| 2002 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland 1–1 Cameroon | Draw | Matt Holland 52' |
| Republic of Ireland 1–1 Germany | Draw | Robbie Keane 90+2' | ||
| Republic of Ireland 3–0 Saudi Arabia | Win | Robbie Keane 7' Gary Breen 61' Damien Duff 87' | ||
| Round of 16 | Republic of Ireland 1–1 (2–3 p) Spain | Draw | Robbie Keane 90' (pen.) | |
1990 World Cup
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Egypt | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
Note: Republic of Ireland awarded second place by drawing of lots
| England | 1–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Lineker 8' | (Report) | Sheedy 73' |
Stadio Sant'Elia, Cagliari
Attendance: 35,238
Referee: Aron Schmidhuber (West Germany)
| Republic of Ireland | 0–0 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) |
Stadio La Favorita, Palermo
Attendance: 33,288
Referee: Marcel Van Langenhove (Belgium)
| Netherlands | 1–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Gullit 10' | (Report) | Quinn 71' |
Stadio La Favorita, Palermo
Attendance: 33,288
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)
Knockout phase
| Republic of Ireland | 0 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Sheedy Houghton Townsend Cascarino O'Leary | 5–4 | Hagi Lupu Rotariu Lupescu Timofte |
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Attendance: 31,818
Referee: José Roberto Wright (Brazil)
| Italy | 1–0 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Schillaci 38' | (Report) |
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Attendance: 73,303
Referee: Carlos Silva Valente (Portugal)
1994 World Cup
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Norway | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Italy | 0–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Houghton 11' |
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 75,338
Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)
| Mexico | 2–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| García 42' 65' | (Report) | Aldridge 84' |
Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Attendance: 60,790
Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger (Switzerland)
| Republic of Ireland | 0–0 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) |
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 72,404
Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)
Knockout phase
| Netherlands | 2–0 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Bergkamp 11' Jonk 41' | (Report) |
Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Attendance: 61,355
Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)
2002 World Cup
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 7 |
| Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 0 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–1 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Holland 52' | (Report) | Mboma 39' |
Niigata Stadium, Niigata
Attendance: 33,679
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
| Germany | 1–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Klose 19' | (Report) | Robbie Keane 90+2' |
Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima
Attendance: 35,854
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
| Saudi Arabia | 0–3 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Robbie Keane 7' Breen 61' Duff 87' |
International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Attendance: 65,320
Referee: Falla N'Doye (Senegal)
Knockout phase
| Spain | 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Morientes 8' | (Report) | Robbie Keane 90' (pen.) |
| Penalties | ||
| Hierro Baraja Juanfran Valerón Mendieta | 3–2 | Robbie Keane Holland Connolly Kilbane Finnan |
Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon
Attendance: 38,926
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
Record players
Defender Steve Staunton has represented the Irish team in all of their thirteen World Cup matches, captaining the side in 2002.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Staunton | 13 | 1990, 1994, 2002 |
| 2 | Pat Bonner | 9 | 1990, 1994 |
| Ray Houghton | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| Paul McGrath | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| Andy Townsend | 9 | 1990, 1994 | |
| 6 | John Aldridge | 8 | 1990, 1994 |
| 7 | Niall Quinn | 7 | 1990, 2002 |
| 8 | Tony Cascarino | 6 | 1990, 1994 |
| Gary Kelly | 6 | 1994, 2002 | |
| Jason McAteer | 6 | 1994, 2002 |
Goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie Keane | 3 | 2002 |
| 2 | Niall Quinn | 1 | 1990 |
| Kevin Sheedy | 1 | 1990 | |
| John Aldridge | 1 | 1994 | |
| Ray Houghton | 1 | 1994 | |
| Gary Breen | 1 | 2002 | |
| Damien Duff | 1 | 2002 | |
| Matt Holland | 1 | 2002 |
See also
- Republic of Ireland at the UEFA European Championship
- Republic of Ireland at the UEFA Nations League
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