Former Republic of Ireland defender Stephen Kelly, Dundalk winger Daryl Horgan and his former Lilywhites team-mates Richie Towell join Raf Diallo on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast to react to the Boys in Green's aggregate win over Bulgaria in the Nations League play-off.
After an in-depth look at Ireland's comeback wins in Plovdiv and Dublin, the latter two also spend ample time reminiscing about their trophy-laden time as team-mates at Dundalk under Stephen Kenny a decade ago and Horgan also shares an insight into staying on as captain for the reset at Oriel Park post-last season's relegation from the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division.
And with the Ireland WNT back in Nations League action against Greece early next month, Shelbourne's Rachel Graham and RTÉ Sport's Anthony Pyne look ahead to Carla Ward's squad announcement, review the weekend's Women's Premier Division and react to the pitch issues that cropped up at home and abroad over the past week.
TIMESTAMPS
00:40 Stephen Kelly analyses Ireland's performances individually and collectively against Bulgaria and gives his take on the implications of Portugal being confirmed as the top seed in the Boys in Green's 2026 World Cup qualifying group.
19:25 Richie Towell and guest interviewee Daryl Horgan share their perspectives on the Ireland games before reminiscing about their time as team-mates at Dundalk between 2013 and 2015. Horgan also talks about the rebuild in the First Divison after last season's upheaval on and off the pitch and also reflects back on breaking into the Ireland squad in 2016-17.
1:08.40 Rachel Graham talks about Shelbourne's weekend win over DLR Waves, reviews the other league fixtures and picks out young players who have been making a mark, before discussing the Avenir Sport All-Island Cup draw, pitch problems in the Champions League and domestically and the squad for Ireland's upcoming double-header against Greece.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
