The Republic of Ireland ended their season with a largely underwhelming 0-0 draw away to Luxembourg.
Following the 1-1 draw with Senegal last Friday, manager Heimir Hallgrimsson made five personnel changes, including a debut for goalkeeper Max O'Leary
The 28-year-old Bristol City keeper, who was first called up six years ago, denied Danel Sinani and substitute Vincent Thill either side of half-time to ensure there was no repeat of the shock 2021 defeat.
The 'end-of-term' vibes were evident at Stade de Luxembourg as Ireland struggled to find any real rhythm against a side ranked 91st in the world, hitting the woodwork in both halves without looking like cutting the hosts apart.
The opening period saw Luxembourg create more chances, yet it was the Boys in Green that went closest to breaking the deadlock.
In a scrappy affair, it was just short of the half-hour mark before a meaningful goalscoring opportunity was created.
Evan Ferguson coughed up possession in midfield and Luxembourg's most industrious player, Sinani, struck a crisp effort that required debutant O’Leary to go at full-stretch to keep out.
The hosts looked the more likely to score but three minutes before the interval it was the woodwork that denied Hallgrimmson’s side the lead.
Dara O’Shea was there to meet the free-kick and guided it toward goal where his defensive partner Nathan Collins got his head to it, the captain’s effort bouncing back off the bar.
42 mins: 🇱🇺 LUX 0-0 🇮🇪 IRL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 10, 2025
Nathan Collins hits the woodwork from a rebounded free kick just before half-time.
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Kasey McAteer injected some life into the laboured Irish attack with an enterprising run and shot which slid wide of the far post within two minutes of the restart, but had it not been for Jason Knight's block at the other end, skipper Laurent Jans would have put the home side ahead with 49 minutes played.
McAteer might have headed for goal from substitute Ryan Manning’s cross but chose instead to pick out Parrott, who was unable to convert with the game opening up, and O’Leary had to save from Aiman Dardari as Luxembourg responded.
Parrott then had the ball in the back of the net in the 65th minute, but the offside flag went straight up.
65mins: 🇱🇺 LUX 0-0 🇮🇪 IRL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 10, 2025
One off the post in the first-half by Collins and another chance off side in the second, this time from Parrott. A great finish but flag goes straight up for an obvious early run.
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Adam Idah and Matt Doherty were sprung from the Irish bench to provide some offensive spark, but the closest either side came to finding the back of the net was Taylor rattling the crossbar in the 87th minute with a rasping drive from outside the area.
The only thing of note in the concluding stages was the international debut handed to John Joe Patrick Finn, the French-based, Spanish-born midfielder from French Ligue 2 club Reims who replaced Jason Knight in the engine room in the final minute.
The Republic's next outing is a crunch home game with Hungary on 6 September where Hungary will be the visitors for the opening game in World Cup qualification.
Luxembourg: Pereira; Dzogovic, Carlson (Gerson 88), Jans (V Thill 62), Korac, Bohnert (Pinto 62); Sinani, Barreiro, Moreira (Duarte 88); Dardari (Kurci 77), Rodrigues (Veiga 81).
Republic of Ireland: O'Leary; O’Brien, O’Shea, Scales, Brady (Manning 20); McAteer (Doherty 75), Phillips (Ebosele 56), Knight (Finn 88), Smallbone (Taylor 56); Ferguson (Idah 75), Parrott.
Referee: S Ebner (Austria)
