“And now it’s time to leave and turn to dust,” goes the song, which might have been how Heimir Hallgrímsson and his crew felt when they left the Czech Republic last week. Joanne Cantwell did nothing at all to raise our broken spirits when she introduced RTÉ’s coverage of the World Cup qualifying losers’ friendly against North Macedonia from the Irish dressingroom. No happy faces back on RTÉ, though, Kenny Cunningham and Richie Sadlier having drawn the short straw – they were on punditry duty for the game. Over on Virgin Media Two, meanwhile, the Czech Republic v Denmark was getting under way. Who looked, as it happens, like a cross between Kenny, Richie and Bosun Lawal.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2026 06:30 UTC