Republic of Ireland v England
Round 1
Cagliari, June 11th - Stadio Sant' Elia
Republic of Ireland 1 (Sheedy 72) v 1 England (Lineker 8)
Bitter old Rivals and like Euro 88 the Republic of Ireland had England in their group. No dramatic victory this time, just a draw against Bobby Robson's side as our Sheedy crashed a slice shot beyond Shilton in the Cagliari rain. The Republic of Ireland was heading for defeat in its first ever World Cup, until Robson made a tactical decision to send on Steve McMahon. It was McMahons poor first touch on the edge of his penalty area which gave Sheedy his chance. And that famous left-foot from the Everton player belted the ball home from 16 yards.
Republic of Ireland Squad
Bonner (Goalkeeper), Morris, Staunton, McCarthy, Moran, McGrath, Houghton, Townsend, Aldridge (Sub McLoughlin), Cascarino, Sheedy, Manager Jack Charlton
England Squad
Shilton(Goalkeeper), Stevens, Pearce, Walker, Butcher, Robson, Waddle, Gascoigne, Barnes, Lineker (Bull), Beardsley (McMahon).
Attendance: 35.238
Republic of Ireland v Egypt
Round 1
Palermo, June 17th - Stadio Della Favorita
Republic of Ireland 0 v 0 Egypt
This goaless draw was a real battle for Jacks Boys in Green as the Egyptians gave practically nothing away. In the end the games result was a direct reflection of both teams performances. The Africans got everyone behind the ball and we were not creative enough.
Republic of Ireland Squad
Bonner (Goalkeeper), Morris, Staunton, McCarthy, Moran, McGrath, Houghton, Townsend, Aldridge (Sub McLoughlin), Cascarino (Sub Quinn), Sheedy.
Egypt Squad
Shobeir, I.Hassan, Yassein, H.Ramzy, Tolba (Abouzeid), Yakan, Youssef, Abdelghani, H.Hassan, Oraby, El Kass (Abdelhamid).
Attendance 33.288
Republic of Ireland v Holland
Round 1
Palermo, June 21st - Stadio Della Favorita
Republic of Ireland 1 (Quinn 71) v 1 Holland (Gullit 10)
Niall Quinn earned the Republic of Ireland its place in the knock-out phase at Italia 90', with a brilliant piece of opportunism. Jack Charltons' men were struggling hard to recover from Gullit's first half goal, when the mighty Quinn slid in to capatalise on a period of dreadful Dutch defending. It was a combinnation of poor communication and lack of concentration of Van-Aerle and Dutch goalie Van-Breuken, who dropped the ball right into the path of the 6ft 2" Dubliner
Republic of Ireland Squad
Bonner (Goalkeeper), Morris, Staunton, McCarthy, Moran, McGrath, Houghton, Townsend, Aldridge (Cascarino), Quinn, Sheedy (Sub Whelan).
Holland Squad
van Breukelen, van Aerle, Rijkaard, R.Koeman, van Tiggelen, Wouters, Witschge (Fraser), Kieft (van Loen), Gillhaus, van Basten, Gullit
Attendance: 33.288
Republic of Ireland v Romania
Round 2
Genoa, June 25th - Stadio Luigi Ferraris
Republic of Ireland 0 v 0 Romania
We were up against the Romanians in the second Round, and it was 50-50 all of the way. The score remained 0-0 after 90 minutes and the 30 minutes of extra time played. It came down to penalties. And the following happened
Romania - Hagi (Scored), Lupu (Scored), Rotario (Scored), Lupescu (Scored), Timofte (Missed) = 4
Republic of Ireland - Sheedy Houghton (Scored), Townsend (Scored), Cascarino (Scored), O'Leary (Scored) = 5
Packie Bonner saved from Timofte and Dave O'Leary stepped up and slotted home. We were in the Quarters.
Republic of Ireland Squad
Bonner (Goalkeeper), Morris, Staunton (Sub O'Leary), McCarthy, Moran, McGrath, Houghton, Townsend, Aldridge (Sub Cascarino), Sheedy, Quinn.
Romania
Lung, Rednic, Klein, Andone, G.Popescu, Rotariu, Sabau (Timofte), Hagi, Lupescu, Raducioiu (Lupu), Balint.
Attendance: 31.818
Republic of Ireland v Italy
Quarter Finals
Rome, June 30th - Stadio Olimpico
Italy 1 (Schillaci 37) v 0 Republic of Ireland
We certainly did not give the Italians' an easy time and we battled on right to the end. Playing the host nation in a World Cup is never easy. In the 37th min Totto Schillaci ended the Irish dream for another World Cup.
Republic of Ireland Squad
Bonner (Goalkeeper), Morris, Staunton, McCarthy, Moran, McGrath, Houghton, Townsend, Aldridge (Sub Sheridan), Sheedy, Quinn (Sub Cascarino).
ITALY
Zenga, Baresi, Bergomi, De Agostini, Ferri, Maldini, Donadoni, De Napoli, Giannini (Ancelotti), Baggio (Serena), Schillaci.
Attendance: 73.303
