Following a recruitment process that began over a month before Christmas 2023, the Republic of Ireland have announced former Höttur (women), IBV (both men and women), Iceland, Al-Arabi and Jamaica manager (as well as qualified dentist) Heimir Hallgrímsson as their new Head Coach.
It’s a quirky appointment, and one that points to a new strategic direction for the FAI, showing they were willing to think outside the box for a permanent manager that aligns with their set criteria for the role. When you move past the social media comments such as “Who?” and “*insert dentist pun*” and consider the Icelander’s experience at international level along with his country’s rise from 108th in the world to 18th during his time there, an initially random appointment starts to make a bit more sense. Add to this, he was also a key part of the fruits of his nation’s football development strategy, which helped them punch well above their weight on the international stage, the height of which was an unprecedented Euro 2016 Quarter Final appearance. As mentioned by Hallgrímsson himself, he’ll be well-equipped to get involved with the FAI’s Football Pathways Plan, unveiled earlier this year.
Tactically, then, what can we expect from the new regime? When the topic of style of play was brought up in his first interview on Wednesday afternoon, Hallgrímsson acknowledged the work that was done by Stephen Kenny to try and implement a possession-based approach. He then went on to say that “John O’Shea took it back to basics, and we should always start from basics and build on from there”. This makes sense. With a daunting first assignment in September at home against England, erring on the side of caution is a smart approach. Following the completion of the league phase of the UEFA Nations League 24/25, Ireland’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers get underway in March 2025.
Results will be the most important thing in his first year in the job, not “fancy stuff” as the new boss coined it.
In terms of a system of play, 4-4-2 was a hallmark of Iceland’s golden era under Hallgrímsson. This, or slight iterations of the structure, was also used in his first game with Jamaica against Argentina in 2022, right up until their Gold Cup semi-final defeat against Mexico in July 2023. He then experimented with a 4-3-3 towards the back end of last year, before settling on a 3-4-3/5-2-3 shape for Jamaica’s Copa America 2024 campaign, which concluded after the group stage.
4-4-2 is clearly his most familiar shape to coach, but as he mentioned during his media duties, adaptability is key. Interestingly, John O’Shea also used the 5-2-3 during his interim tenure which brought with it benefits but also big problems. Those issues mainly included high quality chances coming directly from Ireland’s structure being manipulated in wide areas. Gary Curneen’s analysis of Jamaica’s defensive performance against Mexico in June shows that Hallgrímsson did have solutions to some of the typical questions posed of that system. Of course it wasn’t just a tactical issue, but the fact is that Jamaica’s results were otherwise poor in this tournament while playing 5-2-3, losing all three games with one goal scored and seven conceded. There will be lots to ponder in terms of a system of play for the new Ireland coach.
In terms of tactical principles, Hallgrímsson wasn’t shy in announcing the primary focus will be on organisation, compactness and being a strong unit. His Iceland side, significantly more limited than the current crop of Irish players, were unapologetically defence-first in their Euro 2016 run. Averaging just 31.8% possession in that tournament, his side were notoriously difficult to break down. Like Martin O’Neill’s Ireland of that time, they sought to be greater than the sum of their parts. It worked – playing some of Europe’s finest they conceded just 2.2 ‘big chances’ per game.
Hallgrímsson’s Jamaica had the richest supply of individual talent out of all his international sides. However, key principles remained the same, such as being passive and compact while the opposition is in early build up and becoming much more aggressive once the middle third is entered. Playing a mix of opposition in their run to the semi-final of the 2023 Gold Cup ranging from the USA and Mexico to Guatemala and St. Kitts & Nevis, Jamaica averaged 48% possession over the five games. You get the feeling he’ll find the right balance with Ireland depending on who is in the opposite dugout.
Overall, expect to see an Ireland side extremely well-drilled out of possession that sets traps for their opponents and frustrates them into playing riskier passes or shooting from long range where they can then turnover the ball, particularly in games such as England home and away in the autumn.
The limited time that international football affords managers, as alluded to by Hallgrímsson, means that the key foundations, i.e. the defensive unit, will often take precedence with nations the size of Ireland. This naturally leads to his attacking strategy being focused more on counter attacks and hitting the space early and efficiently. Forcing his opponents to commit men forward in order to try break them down, his Iceland team would then look to quickly pounce on any errors and attack the space quickly.
Rather than primarily looking to play out from the back and through the thirds, his Iceland and Jamaica outfits were often happy to play direct, longer passes in order to get into the final third. With profiles such as Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah, this will be a route you can expect Ireland to go down under his tutelage. It is unlikely, however, that the attacking gameplan will be quite as beelined as that Iceland outfit, given the technical superiority this squad possesses. You can expect direct balls and counter attacks, but this group knows how to pass the ball too.
Long throw-ins have also been a route to goal for Hallgrímsson’s international sides – if it works, he’ll do it. The most notable was the equaliser in that win over England. However, Amari’i Bell’s long throws were a staple of his Jamaica side. There is no wrong way to attack the opponents’ box.
It’s understandable why the masses would initally view this as an underwhelming appointment. A relative unknown to the vast majority of football fans, as well as the way the recruitment process played out, many news outlets pounced on the clickbait opportunity to refer to this experienced coach as a dentist first and foremost in order to spark outrage. Taking a step back to realise he was one of the brains behind probably the greatest international underdog story since Greece 2004, his eagerness to live in Ireland and engage with fans, and his experience at tournaments, it’s only fair to give this one time. The gameplan will often be no-nonsense and relatively simple. There will likely be scrappy, backs-to-the-walls performances, particularly in his first year in the job with only competitive fixtures on the horizon. If it breeds results and we’re in North America in the summer of 2026, who cares?