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America 2026 with Paul Howard and Kevin Kilbane
Heartbreak and glory: Ireland's history of World Cup playoffs
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Relive the glory and the heartbreak of Ireland's previous attempts to reach a major tournament with someone who was there to experience the joy, fight some losing battles and witness that handball. Kevin Kilbane and Paul Howard look back at playoff games past:
- Belgium, World Cup 1998
- Turkey, Euro 2000
- Iran, World Cup 2002
- France, World Cup 2010
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' These guys are going to the World Cup and we're probably better than them'
33:40|Malachy Clerkin, Kevin Kilbane and Gavin Cummiskey are here to talk about the final round of games World Cup qualification matches. In part one we look at last night in the Aviva and Ireland's campaign as a whole. are we in a better place now? And what is Seamus Coleman's future in the Ireland setup?In part two we look at the playoff deciders, where there were plenty of surprising results including Bosnia and Herzegovina beating Italy on penalties. Finally we look ahead to some of the tantalising and not-so-tantalising matchups in the World Cup.'It's really hard to take': Ireland's penalty heartbreak after early dominance
19:28|Ireland’s World Cup dream ended in heartbreaking fashion, giving up a 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic to ultimately lose on penalties. Paul Howard and Kevin Kilbane talk about the disappointment of failing to progress after a dominant first half performance, the penalty that gave the Czech Republic belief and how the rest of the match unfolded.How Troy Parrott factor will influence Ireland v Czech Republic
37:57|Paul Howard and Kevin Kilbane preview Ireland v Czech Republic:Ireland’s squadHandling the pressure of a playoff How Ireland won back to back games against Portugal and Hungary Match fitness and the impact of players not getting regular football The Troy Parrott factor The Czech team Should we practice penalties? Kelleher’s penalty-saving prowessAmerica 2026: Listen to Kevin Kilbane and Paul Howard's World Cup podcast
00:56|Former Ireland international Kevin Kilbane and journalist Paul Howard are making America 2026, a new podcast about the World Cup from The Irish Times. America 2026 starts next week for Ireland's playoff game against Czech Republic. Follow now on your podcast app, and look out for us on YouTube.America 2026
00:27|This is a new podcast from The Irish Times covering the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States. Join former Irish international Kevin Kilbane and journalist and author Paul Howard for Ireland's playoff games in March and the tournament in June.America 2026 drops just in time for Ireland’s first (hopefully not last) playoff game against Czechia. To listen to the podcast, follow America 2026 on your podcast app - and look out for us on YouTube.