Kenny Cunningham believes the Republic of Ireland should face Israel in the Nations League – and that the game Ireland surrendered in Dublin was a chance lost on and off the pitch.
The former Ireland captain wants the fixtures played as scheduled at neutral venues: behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia on October 4th, and in Debrecen, Hungary on September 27th. But in his view, the real statement would have been made at the Aviva Stadium.
“I think the games should go ahead, and I think the home game should have gone ahead in Dublin, that’s my opinion,” Cunningham said at the launch of Premier Sports’ 2026/27 coverage.
Dublin date that never was
The October 4th tie was originally pencilled in for Lansdowne Road, but the Football Association of Ireland moved it to northern Serbia after the tennis ball protest during May’s friendly against Qatar. At the time, the FAI pointed to “operational challenges that could impact on the delivery of the [Israel] game on home soil” as the decisive factor.
Cunningham accepts the strength of feeling around Israel, Palestine and Irish public opinion. He just doesn’t believe pulling the fixture from Dublin advances that debate.
“I think there is a perception about how Irish people feel about Israel and Israeli foreign policies, and the Palestinian issue,” he said. “That is pretty much out there already. We all know where people stand, so I don’t feel cancelling this game takes the argument any further.”
For him, the symbolism of Israel playing in Dublin mattered. So did the reaction in the stands.
“I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli team come on to the pitch in the Aviva. I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli national anthem respected inside the Aviva, because that for me would send a signal, maybe from the Irish people to the Israeli people who have suffered as well in this conflict.
“On a human level, we are actually together here,” he continued. “There are politicians making decisions around this, but genuinely between the Israeli people and the Irish people there is a bit of understanding there on a human level about what has been happening.
“We will respect your national anthem for those reasons. We’ll respect what you have been through on October 7th, the people you lost in harrowing circumstances, which precipitated the recent stage of the conflict.”
Israel has not hosted an international since October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacks killed 1,200 Israelis. Their “home” games have largely shifted to Hungary. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, with more than 1,300 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza since a ceasefire came into force last October.
In that context, Cunningham sees the Dublin game as a missed opportunity for a different kind of message.
“I think the Irish public can show respect to the Israeli people, some of whom may actually agree to a certain extent with the opinions of Irish people,” he said. “Maybe some of the Israeli players are disgusted with their government and the conflict.
“It is messy, but I think the game should have gone ahead in Dublin. It’s a very complex thing. I read as much as everybody else, I read my paper and I try and educate myself as best I can. It’s not just about the last two years, it’s about the last 50 years.
“I’m not sure what the answer is to the conflict, but I don’t think us denying the Israelis a game in Dublin, or even cancelling the game, moves things any way forward in a positive way.”
Parrott, Ferguson and Ireland’s attacking puzzle
While the politics swirl around Ireland’s fixtures, the football itself is edging back into focus. The Nations League opens away to Kosovo on September 24th, with Heimir Hallgrímsson set to name his squad on September 17th. Between now and Euro 2028, the shape of Ireland’s attack will be one of the defining questions of his tenure.
Cunningham has already nailed his colours to the mast: he wants Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson on the pitch together, not squeezed into a system that isolates one and compromises the other.
The Icelandic coach has leaned on a 3-4-2-1, with a narrow front three. Cunningham doesn’t see that as the best use of Ireland’s emerging firepower.
“I’m not a big fan of the narrow three up front, I think we can play with two central strikers, but then we never saw it in the summer so that was an opportunity missed,” he said.
The dilemma is obvious. If Ferguson returns to full fitness, does Hallgrímsson trust a genuine front two, or keep one of his brightest forwards shunted wide?
“If Evan gets himself fit are we going to play him and Troy, our two best strikers of the generation, in a partnership or is one of them shifted left of a front three and how’s that going to work?”
That question now hangs over Ireland’s autumn. While debate rages about where they should play Israel, the more pressing issue for Hallgrímsson may be how – and with whom – Ireland choose to attack.
