Seamus Coleman was replaced by John Egan shortly before the beginning of injury time.
22:21, 11 Oct 2025Updated 22:31, 11 Oct 2025
Ireland's Séamus Coleman dejected after the match
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Ireland's Séamus Coleman dejected after the match(Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
Didi Hamann and Shay Given have questioned Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson's decision to replace Seamus Coleman moments before Ruben Neves' goal broke Irish hearts in Lisbon.
Ireland had held firm for 92 minutes when former Wolves midfielder Neves popped up with a last-gasp header to break Ireland's resolve and seal the three points for Portugal.
Hallgrimsson's side had defended over a dozen crosses with minimal fuss throughout the game, but there was confusion when John Egan and Jake O'Brien were both focused on Cristiano Ronaldo, allowing Neves to ghost in ahead of Caoimhín Kelleher in the dying moments.
Coleman had performed excellently for Ireland on the night, working well with O'Brien who was playing at right centre back. Coleman's departure forced O'Brien to wing-back and Egan to centre-back, and Hamann believes this decision may have contributed to the winning goal.
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"The question I was asking myself was... Coleman comes off on 87 minutes, and Egan comes on. The first thing I said to Shay was 'where is he going to play?' Hamann said on RTE.
"Because O'Brien, Collins, O'Shea, the way they defended the box was exceptional. Now, the most important position is in the centre.
"And I was thinking, 'why doesn't he leave O'Brien in the middle, and put Egan at right wing back, and leave the three because they (Portugal) must have put 30 crosses in, but you never got the feeling that there was a danger, because everything that came in, they headed out and they had a great understanding the three of them.
"Now, when you bring a new player in and you put him there, it causes friction and it causes maybe misunderstanding. I'm not saying that's the reason they conceded, but I didn't understand firstly why he took Coleman off, and secondly why he doesn't out Egan to right back and leave O'Shea in the middle."
Given agreed with Hamann's opinion, and believed that there was perhaps too much risk involved in the decision to take Coleman out and re-jig the central defenders.
The former goalkeeper also believed that it was a 'strange decision.'
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"Seamus didn't look tired to me in a sense. (O'Brien's) a real presence in the centre of the goals.
"That's maybe the one thing you could question the manager after the game."