Republic of Ireland Men's Football Team

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Fifa World Cup qualifier: Portugal v Republic of Ireland

Venue: Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon Date: Saturday, 11 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website

Jimmy Dunne is a late call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia with Liam Scales forced to withdraw.

Celtic defender Scales was forced to pull out of the trip to Lisbon for Saturday's Group F game against Portugal due to a "family bereavement" but is expected to return for Tuesday's home game against Armenia.

Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson opted to call the Queens Park Rangers club captain in as cover as his side seek to revive their hopes of qualification for next summer's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

"Jimmy Dunne called into the squad for the Portugal and Armenia matches," the FAI posted on X.

"Defender Liam Scales will not travel to Lisbon due to a family bereavement but will come back into the squad for the Armenia match.

"Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time."

Dunne has one previous international cap, coming in March's 2-1 Nations League win against Bulgaria in Dublin.

The 27-year-old Dundalk native has impressed for QPR since signing from Burnley in 2021, operating initially at centre-half but his performances as a right-back last season earned him the players' player of the year and club player of the season, while he signed a contract extension with the Championship club in the summer.

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Midfielder Jayson Molumby said he was "angry and disappointed" not be selected for Republic of Ireland during the previous international window.

The West Brom player was not in Heimir Halgrimsson's squad for the opening World Cup qualifiers, a draw at home against Hungary and a 2-0 defeat away to Armenia.

Included for October's games against Portugal and Armenia, Molumby is hoping he can take his club form onto the international stage and make an impact.

"It's nice to be back, it was tough for me, I was gutted not to be selected, and it was hard to watch [the Armenia game]," he said.

"You feel a lot of emotions, angry and disappointed. I didn't get a reason; there is however many lads to pick from and they [coaching staff] were just focused on the players they had selected.

"I feel I've started well this season; I've started all the league games for West Brom and am in a good place."

The 26-year-old won the last of his 29 caps for his country against England in November 2024.

With Jason Knight missing through injury and Killian Phillips not included in the squad, Molumby is hoping he can stake his claim for a starting place in midfield alongside Josh Cullen.

"You back yourself. My strengths are I'm passionate, I care, and I work as hard as I can," he added.

"I feel like I don't get enough credit for my technical ability. I'm not unbelievable technically, but I can manage myself and I feel I'm good enough on the ball to play at this level and I feel I get looked over for that part of my game.

"I feel I can contribute. I'm not here to say I should be playing for Republic of Ireland, it hasn't been a successful time since I've been here, I haven't achieved much or won a big away fixture. I believe in myself but it's hard when results haven't come."

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Dundee United defender Will Ferry has received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia.

Ferry, who has represented Republic of Ireland at under-19s and under-21s level, has been brought into the squad after Callum O'Dowda and Sammie Szmodics withdrew through injury.

The 24-year-old has been a mainstay for Dundee United since signing from Cheltenham Town in the summer of 2024.

Now the Tangerines vice-captain, the full-back has made 52 appearances for the club and helped them to qualify for Europe last season.

The rest of the Republic of Ireland squad reported to Dublin on Monday as Heimir Hallgrimsson prepares his side to travel to Lisbon to face Portugal on Saturday, 11 October before hosting Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday, 14 October.

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Shamrock Rovers defender Josh Honohan has been called into the Republic of Ireland squad for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Armenia in Yerevan following Sammie Szmodics' withdrawal.

Honohan was part of the squad for the June friendly against Senegal, but is yet to win a senior cap.

Szmodics was withdrawn after 78 minutes in Saturday's 2-2 draw against Hungary in Dublin when Heimir Hallgrimsson's team recovered from going two goals down after 15 minutes to rescue a late point thanks to Adam Idah's injury-time equaliser.

The Ipswich Town player expressed his disappointment at missing the trip to Armenia with a social media post: "Gutted to be leaving camp early fingers crossed it's nothing too serious. Good luck to the boys in Armenia."

The Republic of Ireland squad departed from Dublin Airport on Sunday as they now focus on taking on an Armenia side that lost their opening qualifier 5-0 to Portugal on Saturday.

Manager Hallgrimsson acknowledges the long journey to Yerevan is not ideal, but victory remains their primary objective against the 105th-ranked team in the world.

"We have to recover quickly because that game in Armenia has more importance than before," he said after Saturday's draw against Hungary.

"Armenia have a day at home and they will have an advantage on us.

"We said that four points (from the opening two games) would be OK - six was our target - so we're disappointed not to have three in the bag."