Séamus Coleman Focuses on Future with Republic of Ireland

Séamus Coleman has told Heimir Hallgrimsson he wants to keep playing for the Republic of Ireland – but the veteran defender has ruled himself out of the upcoming Nations League window because he feels his current situation would be “unfair” on team-mates.

The former Everton captain, who turns 38 next month, is without a club after his 17-year stay at Goodison Park ended last season. He has been training alone since and, like fellow free agent Robbie Brady, is still searching for a new deal.

Coleman’s absence from the squad named on Thursday for Ireland’s opening four UEFA Nations League fixtures raised eyebrows, but Hallgrimsson stressed this is a pause, not a farewell.

“My intention, in whatever shape or form that will be, he will be with us in the future, hopefully as a player,” the Ireland manager said. “His intention is to play, he is keeping fit but he hasn't been training with a club or with a team.

“We felt, together, it was more his decision that it was appropriate he would sit out this one. Mostly because he felt it was unfair to other players that he would be picked at this moment.”

Coleman recently outlined his current regime on the Stick To Football podcast, confirming he has been working individually while he weighs up his next move. Until that changes, Ireland will go into this window without one of their long-time leaders.

Injuries bite but November offers hope

Captain Nathan Collins misses out after a calf injury picked up with Brentford earlier this month. Hallgrimsson expects the defender to be back in club colours once the international break is over, easing fears of a longer lay-off.

There was also a cautiously upbeat bulletin on Evan Ferguson and Josh Cullen, both long-term absentees who have not featured for Ireland since November 2025. Ferguson has been sidelined with ankle problems, while Cullen has been recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury.

“They will probably start training on the grass with (their club teams) after the FIFA window sometime. So maybe next camp is their time,” Hallgrimsson said, pointing towards the November window as a realistic target.

Bosun Lawal, the versatile Stoke City player with one senior cap, has been called up despite carrying an injury. Hallgrimsson made it clear the 21-year-old is there for the experience as much as the minutes.

“He is injured at the moment, but we still rate him that highly,” the Icelandic coach said. “We still want him in the camp, being with us and around us. I don't expect him to play much.

“But we are in collaboration with Stoke City, just to see how much he can do and will load him and hopefully he can take some part in the end of this camp. But we rate him that highly that we think it is necessary for him to be around the squad.”

Private talks over controversial Israel fixtures

Ireland begin their Nations League campaign away to Kosovo in Pristina next Thursday. After that, attention turns to two politically charged fixtures against Israel, both moved to neutral venues – one in Hungary, the other in Serbia.

Given the backdrop, Hallgrimsson chose to speak to every player individually about their feelings on taking part.

“I have spoken to all of them individually on that, because you shouldn't be doing this (in) a group talk,” he said.

“And obviously we have different opinions, different strength of opinion. I think it's best to say, without going into individual (situations), none of us feel comfortable playing these games.

“But once we have decided to play them, we all stick together and play as one, and we want to represent Ireland with the best games and performances that we can.

“So that's just that's the agreement between all of us. But obviously, we don't have to all share the same opinion, and that's just human nature.”

The message is clear: unease off the pitch, unity on it.

Riding a seven-game surge into a reshaped Nations League

All of this plays out against a changing backdrop in the competition itself. UEFA has restructured the Nations League, trimming it from four tiers to three. Sides in League B will no longer face automatic relegation to League C, altering the jeopardy but not, in Hallgrimsson’s eyes, the stakes.

“(There are) lots of reasons why we want to do really well in these Nations League matches,” he said.

Ireland arrive in form. They are seven games unbeaten, conceding fewer goals and trending upwards across the performance data that Hallgrimsson and his staff pore over.

“Again, the importance of this moment, these games, we are on a good run, we are on a positive spiral, we (would) like to keep that going, (and) have not lost in the last seven matches. Long may that continue.

“We are conceding less goals and all the metrics that we are using to kind of look at how our performance is improving.”

So Coleman waits, Brady waits, Ferguson and Cullen edge closer, and a young squad walks into a politically fraught window with a quietly growing belief.

The unbeaten run is alive. The question now is whether this Nations League campaign can turn momentum into something more permanent.