Republic of Ireland B national football team

Republic of Ireland B is the reserve team of the Republic of Ireland national football team. There are no competitions for B teams. However since 1957 the Football Association of Ireland has arranged occasional friendlies.

History

Early B internationals

The FAI first introduced B internationals during the 1950s. In an era when League of Ireland players were getting fewer opportunities to break into the senior team, these games were seen as a chance for these players to gain some international experience. The Republic of Ireland B played their first game on October 20, 1957 at Dalymount Park against Romania B. They held the visitors to a 1-1 draw. Three days later, on October 23, the Romanians lost 6-0 to a Northern Ireland B team.

In August 1958 a Republic of Ireland B team travelled to Reykjavik and beat Iceland 3-2. Then in September 1960, Iceland made a return visit to Dalymount Park, this time losing 2-1. On both occasions Iceland fielded their senior team and the Football Association of Iceland regard these games as full internationals. In between the two games against Iceland, the Republic of Ireland B also beat South Africa 1-0 at Dalymount Park. The South Africans also regard this as a full international. Several League of Ireland players who played in these games subsequently played for the senior Republic of Ireland team. These included Christy Doyle,...
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