On Wednesday afternoon, we asked Irish football fans to vote for their best Ireland starting XI from the entire pool of players used by Heimir Hallgrímsson thus far.
The results are now in.
We gave 24 hours for fans to respond, with a huge amount of responses and plenty of outside shouts getting lots of support. Plenty of big names, too, missed out on selection.
At 2pm today, 24 hours after we launched the poll, we counted up the final results. We present to you, the Balls.ie readers' Ireland starting XI.
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Revealing Ireland's best starting XI - according to Irish football fans
Formation: 4-4-2
We chose to go with Heimir Hallgrímsson's preferred 4-4-2 formation. In our poll, we asked voters to pick one goalkeeper from a choice of three, two full backs from a choice of seven, two centre backs from a choice of seven, two midfielders from a choice of nine, two wingers from a choie of eight, and two forwards from a choice of five.
Some players were options in more than one position (e.g., some can play both centre-back and right-back), but we thankfully did not run into the issue of any players winning the vote in more than one position.
GK: Caoimhín Kelleher (89%)
23 March 2025; Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
The most comprehensive winner in any position was Liverpool shot stopper Caoimhín Kelleher. The Corkonian has made the #1 jersey his own over the past 12 months and, though he will face competition from a fresh and fit Gavin Bazunu, we expect him to be between the sticks for Ireland for quite some time.
LB: Robbie Brady (54%)
10 October 2024; Robbie Brady of Republic of Ireland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Finland and Republic of Ireland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The evergreen man in this team, Robbie Brady has looked transformed under Heimir Hallgrímsson and continues to deliver the goods in attacking situations for Ireland.
He may be a veteran at this stage but he was the selection at left-back in our poll, and with good reason. Given his recent form, we see no reason to drop the 33-year-old.
CB: Nathan Collins (84%)
23 March 2025; Nathan Collins of Republic of Ireland after the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The man who received the most votes of any player, when those he received in central midfield are also counted. He appears to be cemented as Heimir's new captain with Séamus Coleman edging towards the end of his career.
Though he has been nervy in possession on more than one occasion under the new manager, Ireland has produced few better defensive players of late than the young Brentford centre-back.
CB: Jake O'Brien (49%)
23 March 2025; Jake O'Brien of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
After a solid performance on his first competitive start for Ireland against Bulgaria, Jake O'Brien has instantly worked his way into the fan selection.
This was the closest vote on the entire team, with O'Brien just edging out Dara O'Shea, who was a mainstay in the team in 2024. With his resurgence at club level of late, Ireland fans will hope it will only be up from here for Jake O'Brien.
RB: Matt Doherty (43%)
20 March 2025; Matt Doherty of Republic of Ireland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 1st Leg match between Bulgaria and Republic of Ireland at Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
It seemed for a brief period last winter that Matt Doherty's time in an Ireland jersey may be coming to a sudden end after lacklustre performances in September saw him draw the ire of fans and pundits and miss out on the October squad.
However, he has been resurgent of late and strong performances in the two-legged playoff against Bulgaria have him taking the right-back spot in the fans' vote, ahead of veteran Séamus Coleman or youngster Festy Ebosele.
LM: Finn Azaz (51%)
23 March 2025; Finn Azaz of Republic of Ireland in action against Simeon Petrov of Bulgaria during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
The star man of the two wins over Bulgaria, Finn Azaz looks set to play a big role for Ireland going forward. He has immediately made himself a fan favourite and beat out the likes of Sammie Szmodics and Mikey Johnston to secure his spot on this team.
There is a big future in green ahead for Azaz.
CM: Josh Cullen (66%)
23 March 2025; Marin Petkov of Bulgaria in action against Josh Cullen of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Josh Cullen has been a solid, consistent player in midfield for Ireland, at a time when the centre of park has posed persistent problems regardless of the head coach.
His tireless efforts had him leading the poll in midfield.
CM: Will Smallbone (36%)
10 September 2024; Will Smallbone of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The second midfield spot was far more hotly contested, with a tougher choice ahead for Heimir Hallgrímsson as to who should partner the experience of Cullen.
Ultimately, our readers just about plumped for Southampton Will Smallbone, with Jason Knight following close behind. Smallbone has the smallest vote percentage of any player on the team, showing just how split the Ireland fanbase is on who should play in midfield.
RM: Chiedozie Ogbene (81%)
13 October 2024; Chiedozie Ogbene of Republic of Ireland before the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Greece and Republic of Ireland at Georgios Karaiskakis Football Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
From here on out, the choices were comprehensively agreed upon - and only Nathan Collins and Caoimhín Kelleher received more votes than Chiedozie Ogbene.
A lengthy, ongoing injury layoff for Ogbene means that he missed the November double-header and the Bulgaria playoff but he was perhaps the most reliable player in the Ireland team over the previous three years. He will surely play a huge role going forward.
ST: Evan Ferguson (75%)
23 March 2025; Evan Ferguson of Republic of Ireland shoots to score his side's first goal during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Surprisingly, given the amount of options up front, about 3/4 of our readers were in agreement on what the strike partnership should be up front.
Despite his struggles of late, Evan Ferguson evidently remains the man in the eyes of most Ireland fans. Off the back of his goalscoring exploits last Sunday, he received more votes than any other forward. Hopefully those goals are a more regular occurrence for the 20-year-old going forward.
ST: Troy Parrott (73%)
23 March 2025; Troy Parrott of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Just behind Ferguson in votes was Troy Parrott, who was superb in both games against Bulgaria. He has been similarly excellent for AZ Alkmaar in both the Eredivisie and the Europa League this year, finally delivering on the promise he has held since bursting onto the scene.
Adam Idah and Sammie Szmodics surprisingly trailed both Ferguson and Parrott.
The Balls.ie Ireland starting XI in full
Of course, the likelihood of having all of these players fully fit at the same time is a hugely unlikely occurrence in modern football.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect for Ireland fans is that, after years of uncertainty over where the team was going, there is now genuine competition for places all across the park.
The future is bright...hopefully.
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