1) One win. A last minute goal from Alan Judge against a second-string USA side during an end-of-season friendly gave Ireland a 2-1 victory and ensured that Martin O’Neill was able to claim one victory for the calendar year. The game also marked the last time that Declan Rice lined out for Ireland.
1) One goal. Shaun Williams’ 66th minute consolation goal against Wales in Ireland’s 4-1 drubbing back in September proved to be the only goal that Ireland scored in a Nations League campaign that ended in relegation.
1) One shot. Ireland rounded off their Nations League games with a dire performance and a scoreless draw against a Denmark team who had nothing to play for. Cyrus Christie, a defender who was once again shoe-horned into a midfield role, registered the only shot of the game against the Danes with a hopeful punt from outside the penalty area.
3) Third tier. Ireland’s relegation from the Nations League B will see them drop down to the third tier of the newly founded competition. Ireland will also be seeded in the third pot when the draw for the Euro 2020 qualifying is held in Dublin next month.
4) Four games without a goal. The 0-0 draw with Denmark saw Ireland fail to score in four consecutive games for the first time since May 1996.
6) Six defenders. Ireland started their final Nations League game with six defenders in the starting eleven, along with three naturally left-sided midfielders. They were, thankfully, only able to name one goalkeeper in the team.
8) Eight new players. Ronan Curtis, Michael Obafemi, Scott Hogan, Aiden O'Brien, Shaun Williams, Darragh Lenihan, Matt Doherty and Enda Stevens all earned their first international caps this year. It would be nine if you include Declan Rice, but at this stage, it’s probably best not to mention the war.
18) 18 years old. Southampton striker Michael Obafemi came off the bench with 10 minutes to go against Denmark and became the first player born in the 2000s to earn a full competitive cap for Ireland.
21) Under-21s. After eight years in charge during which his side failed to qualify for a tournament, Noel King stepped down from his role as manager of the Ireland Under-21s. King remains an FAI employee however and is now their new ‘Player Identification Manager’.
34) 34% win rate. Ireland’s scoreless draw with Denmark means that Martin O’Neill now has the lowest win percentage of any Ireland manager of the modern era. The stalemate in Aarhus saw O’Neill dip bellow Steve Staunton who had a win rate of 35%, while at the top is Brian Kerr who won 55% of his games in charge of Ireland.
37.2) 37.2% average possession. Ireland have struggled to hold onto the ball through the year and throughout all of their Nations League games, were only able to manage an average of 37.2% possession.
45) 45 minutes. Each of Ireland’s four goals scored this year came in the second-half with O’Neill’s side drawing a blank in the first half of every one of their 2018 matches.
85) 85 caps. Glenn Whelan earned his 85th and in all likelihood, final cap, when he led out Ireland at the Aviva Stadium against Northern Ireland. Whelan got to say his farewells to the crowd but stopped short of announcing his retirement, saying: "I never picked when I came to play for Ireland and I’ll never pick when I don’t want to play. I spoke to the boss already and he knows if anything happens down the line, I’ll be available."
1982) Ireland’s record of just one win in nine games in 2018 represents their worst return in a single year since 1982, when Eoin Hand was manager.
31241) Attendance of 31,241 The official attendance for Ireland’s 0-0 draw with neighbours Northern Ireland was 31,241, some 20,459 people short of the Aviva Stadium’s capacity. However, even that doesn’t tell the full story with swathes of empty seats throughout the ground as fans opted to stay away, and the stadium certainly appeared to be emptier than it was for the FAI Cup final which had an attendance of 30,412.
