‘Why should he retire?’ – Heimir Hallgrimsson hopes Seamus Coleman plays on | OneFootball

Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson is keeping his fingers crossed that inspirational veteran Seamus Coleman extends his international career.

The 37-year-old Everton full-back received a standing ovation when he was replaced 61 minutes into Tuesday night’s 0-0 friendly draw with North Macedonia at the Aviva Stadium in what could yet turn out to be his final appearance for his country.

However, Ireland boss Hallgrimsson is desperate for a man who made his senior debut more than 15 years ago to carry on wearing the green shirt.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, he said: “We had a good talk and we want him to go as long as he can – as a player. It would be great for him to hopefully play in Euro 2028 in Ireland.

“Our desire is to keep him for a long, long time. He is good at helping the young players to grow. He is a good player. Why should he retire?

“It will be connected to what he does at his club.”

Coleman has made only five appearances – and just three starts – for Everton so far this season, one fewer than for Ireland, for whom he remains both a key player and a significant voice on and off the pitch.

He vowed not to make any snap decisions in the wake of Thursday night’s World Cup semi-final play-off defeat in the Czech Republic, and will now go away to reflect upon what the future may hold for him.

It proved a frustrating evening in Dublin for Coleman and his team-mates as their hopes of closing their international window on a high note after a cruel penalty shoot-out defeat in Prague ended in stalemate.

Troy Parrott had two goals disallowed for offside in the run-up to half-time and then hit the post after it, but substitute Johnny Kenny might have won it in stoppage time only to fire weakly at keeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Hallgrimsson said: “It was a strange one wasn’t it? It started very slowly, it felt like they were trying to kill the tempo from the first minute to the last.

“It was always going to be about character after we played so many games when everything was on the line.

“The four days after the [Czech Republic] game have been tough. We gave them a day off on the first day, just to spend time with their family. That was key.

“The first session we had was awful. It was a slow tempo, we were scratching our heads, ‘How can we push them, how can we motivate them?’.

“In the end they did it themselves, we felt the energy coming back, as good pros will do.”

Those members of Hallgrimsson’s squad whose league seasons have finished will meet up in May for a training camp in Murcia which will include a game against Grenada, and there are friendlies against Qatar and Canada to come before the end of the current campaign.