If you could change one result in Ireland's football history...

**NeilMcD** · 18/04/2006, 1:18 PM

If you could change on result in the History of The Seniour Internation Team what would it be.

To me it would probably be the game against Holland when Wim Kieft scored with about 8 minutes to go and denying us a place in the semi finals. Holland went on to be the Champions so who know how we would have got on if that goal had of been disallowed. Anybody got other games they wish they could alter the result.

**wws** · 18/04/2006, 1:24 PM

the away game with israel - if we had have held out for a few minutes we would have gone on to win the world cup this year in my opinion - especially with that squad of players

**tetsujin1979** · 18/04/2006, 1:25 PM

Poland 1 England 1 in the Euro '92 qualifiers, if Poland had won we would have qualified for it.

**nedder** · 18/04/2006, 1:28 PM

1. Israel at home last year - We could still be going to Germany if we had of won. I think we never really recovered mentally from it

2. Play off v Turkey

3. v spain world cup 02 - q final v south korea up for grabs

**nedder** · 18/04/2006, 1:31 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Poland 1 England 1 in the Euro '92 qualifiers, if Poland had won we would have qualified for it.

and we had a good squad then,
could have done really well in that tournament.
Didn't Denmark win that tournament??

**OwlsFan** · 18/04/2006, 1:42 PM

Easy: Italy 1 Ireland 0 at Italia 90. A win there and a World Cup semi-final

. No contest as far as I am concerned.

**soccerc** · 18/04/2006, 2:02 PM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Easy: Italy 1 Ireland 0 at Italia 90. A win there and a World Cup semi-final

. No contest as far as I am concerned.

Agreed, and quite possibly we could have gone on to the final and brought the trophy home IMHO.

**Stuttgart88** · 18/04/2006, 2:08 PM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Easy: Italy 1 Ireland 0 at Italia 90. A win there and a World Cup semi-final

. No contest as far as I am concerned.

No contest for me either.

**S�C** · 18/04/2006, 2:36 PM

Game year and years ago against Belgium, 1982 AFAIK when a fool of a ref decided to rob Eoin Hand and Ireland featuring Brady and Stapleton in their prime not once but twice.

Might have changed the ol� ol� long ball we had to endure for years after that, including the total decay of our underage system

Great piece in the tribune a few years ago about it. I posted it up here before, I'll go find the link...

.... here we go. Its very long but worth while if you have not read it before. Posts 37 and 38

http://www.foot.ie/showthread.php?t=12723&page=2

**youngirish** · 18/04/2006, 2:57 PM

Has to be Spain V Ireland in 2002 - no contest for me. We would have had a nice run to the finals playing an average (at best) Korean team followed by a beatable German side (we had the better of them in the group stages even though we only equalised in injury time). Admittedly the Koreans had the ref and linesmen on their team so we might have found it harder than expected.

If we'd have beaten Italy in Italia 90 I reckon we still would have been knocked out by Argentina in the next round. We certainly wouldn't have beaten Germany in the finals. Anyway we played desperate boring long ball tactics that the World Cup final could have done without (though I wouldn't have minded if Ireland were in it).

At least in 2002 we played good football.

**Stuttgart88** · 18/04/2006, 3:17 PM

Actually, on reflection, maybe France at Lansdowne in September.

We wouldn't have won any of the above tournaments & we'd be going to Germany and would be just counting down the days, praying our best players don't get injured, debating furiously over who we'd pick and so on

I'd rather be happy now than have a distant memory of past partial success.

**as_i_say** · 18/04/2006, 3:22 PM

so many painful moments but spain in 2002 was more of an empty feeling. i'd go with the macedonia equalizer as well. the utter fury from irwin when the goal went in, or was it staunton

**OwlsFan** · 18/04/2006, 3:42 PM

Originally Posted by as_i_say

so many painful moments but spain in 2002 was more of an empty feeling. i'd go with the macedonia equalizer as well. the utter fury from irwin when the goal went in, or was it staunton

Most painful ok but that's not the same as which result would you like to change. A World Cup semi-final in 1990 against Argentina would have been the stuff of dreams and a chance in a lifetime. Ni feicimid a leithid aris.

**as_i_say** · 18/04/2006, 3:56 PM

i was too young to feel much for the italian game in 1990. but i will say, we were an awful boring shower in that tournament. mccarthy's team was my generation so i would definitely change that result-sure we would have gotten a full tournament if it was for those lousy kosaks!

**Forever Dreamin** · 18/04/2006, 9:43 PM

Spain in Suwon, the Koreans were definitely beatable, we did every thing but score in extra time and the players really believed they could win the cup. We didnt deserve to beat the Italians in 90 and would have got hammered in the SF, 2nd would be the Dutch in 88.

If you want to go reeling in the years, Bulgaria when Giles was about or Belguim in 1980, remember it like yeaterday, never a free kick, 4 minutes to go 2 days of drinking sombered up in an instant, cried the heart out, or my first away game as a 17yr old kid in Wemble and Keegan scored twice.

Did you say 3 wishes???

**Superhoops** · 18/04/2006, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by Forever Dreamin

Spain in Suwon, the Koreans were definitely beatable, we did every thing but score in extra time and the players really believed they could win the cup......???

Not sure we would have beaten South Korea, but we definitely deserved to beat Spain and to get to the Q/F would have been the perfect two-fingers to RMK.

But the vote must be for the Italy game in 1990. A win would have meant at least a World Cup semi-final place. For Ireland that would have been mega.

**Closed Account 2** · 18/04/2006, 10:09 PM

Can I cheat and say Roy Keane and McCarthy not having a falling out at WC2002 ? - not a result but a pivotal moment in my opinion.

I'm no fan of his personality, but he was bang in form then, the peak of his game - I remember seeing him play against Leverkusen 2 months before the world cup, scoring a great goal beating the defenders and taking it round the keeper. When I saw that goal I thought we were heading into the WC with a fantastic chance.

If it's only on results I'll say the Spanish in 02, no question for me at all. If we had beaten them I think we would have got to the final, given the run in. In the final, 90 mins against the Brazilians - well anything could have happened!!

**Forever Dreamin** · 18/04/2006, 11:23 PM

[QUOTE=cfdh_edmundo]Can I cheat and say Roy Keane and McCarthy not having a falling out at WC2002 ? - not a result but a pivotal moment in my opinion.

They fell out years before hand, pity but the team played as well as could have been expected with or without him, and having been over there one of the most powerful memories is his picture cut out of the team photo on the back of the team coach, cut out by the players!! the less said about him the better and my then 12yr old got it right when she told her teacher she would give her right arm to play for her country like most other irish people regardless of who was manager!

**Risteard** · 18/04/2006, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Easy: Italy 1 Ireland 0 at Italia 90. A win there and a World Cup semi-final

. No contest as far as I am concerned.

Obviously.

**Volc�n Masaya** · 19/04/2006, 5:33 AM

Versus Spain in Paris in 1965. If we had beaten them 2-0 we would have qualified for the WC in '66. Don't think we would have amounted to much in the WC, but it would have been a massive boost to Irish soccer, esp with it being right next door. Would have had been a 22 year jump start on the "modern" era.