Then he pointed to Houghton, who was chatting to Dave Langan, and revealed that the Scot’s dad was from Donegal. Vale’s take when speaking to the club’s in-house media was that his clubmate happened to point Hallgrimsson in his direction. Bringing players into a squad when a side is within touching distance of a major tournament can be a tricky proposition. Seven players have made Irish Euro or World Cup squads in the past having made senior debuts that same year. James McClean: Got his first senior cap against Bosnia-Herzegovina just two weeks before the Euro 2012 opener against Croatia in Poznan.

Source: Irish Examiner March 25, 2026 18:39 UTC