Republic of Ireland vs Qatar Preview

Thursday evening at the Aviva Stadium offers the Republic of Ireland a final home outing before the summer as they prepare for next year after missing out on the World Cup. Qatar are the visitors for what shapes up as an entertaining pre-tournament workout, with Ireland carrying genuine momentum from their World Cup qualifying campaign and Qatar arriving as a side with less to prove on the international stage but still keen to test themselves against European opposition.

Ireland’s recent form makes for encouraging reading. Their most recent outing was a dominant 5-0 home win over Grenada in May — a confidence-boosting performance that underlined the attacking quality available. Prior to that, a 0-0 home draw against North Macedonia in a March friendly reflected a more cautious, controlled afternoon. Before that, a 2-2 draw away at Czechia in World Cup qualifying — a result that cost Ireland on penalties and ended their qualification hopes through that route. Earlier in this run, a superb 3-2 away win in Hungary. The sequence opened with a 2-0 home win over Portugal in November 2025, one of the most significant results in recent Irish football. Three wins from five, with competitive performances at the highest level, reflects a group that has grown considerably over the past two years and arrives at this fixture in strong shape.

Qatar’s form has been inconsistent. Their most recent outing was a 1-2 home defeat to Zimbabwe in a November friendly — a result that reflected poorly on a side expected to perform against lower-ranked opposition. Prior to that, a 2-1 home win over the United Arab Emirates in Asian qualifying. Before that, a 0-0 draw away at Oman in the same competition. Earlier in this run, a heavy 4-1 home defeat to Russia. The sequence opened with a 2-2 home draw against Bahrain. One win from five, with two losses and two draws, does not make for a compelling record, and coming to Dublin on Thursday represents a significant step up in quality.

The head-to-head record favours Ireland on results, though only two meetings exist between the sides. Ireland won 4-0 at home when the two sides met in October 2021. The previous encounter saw the sides draw 1-1 when Qatar hosted in March 2021.

The Aviva Stadium crowd will provide a wall of noise behind a side that has found a coherent identity and a settled squad structure. For Qatar, this is about gaining experience against a well-organised European nation ahead of their own summer commitments. Ireland will look to control the game from the outset and build on the fluency shown in the Grenada performance.

In Ireland, the match is live on RTE 2 and available to stream via the RTE Player. In the United States, viewers can watch on Fox Sports 2 and fuboTV. The game is also available in Germany on DAZN Germany, and in Norway on TV 2 Play.

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Republic of Ireland — Last 5 Games

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Republic of Ireland	5-0	Grenada	International Friendly	May 16, 2026
🤝	Republic of Ireland	0-0	North Macedonia	International Friendly	Mar 31, 2026
❌	Czechia	2-2	Republic of Ireland	World Cup Qualifying	Mar 26, 2026
✅	Hungary	2-3	Republic of Ireland	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 16, 2025
✅	Republic of Ireland	2-0	Portugal	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 13, 2025

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Qatar — Last 5 Games

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Qatar	1-2	Zimbabwe	International Friendly	Nov 17, 2025
✅	Qatar	2-1	United Arab Emirates	World Cup Qualifying – AFC	Oct 14, 2025
🤝	Oman	0-0	Qatar	World Cup Qualifying – AFC	Oct 8, 2025
❌	Qatar	1-4	Russia	International Friendly	Sep 7, 2025
🤝	Qatar	2-2	Bahrain	International Friendly	Sep 3, 2025

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Head to Head — Last 2 Meetings

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Republic of Ireland	4-0	Qatar	International Friendly	Oct 12, 2021
Qatar	1-1	Republic of Ireland	International Friendly	Mar 30, 2021

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TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Ireland	RTE 2 / RTE Player
USA	Fox Sports 2 / fuboTV
Germany	DAZN Germany
Austria	DAZN Austria
Canada	DAZN Canada
Norway	TV 2 Play
Denmark	TV2 Sport Denmark
Sweden	Viaplay Sweden
Poland	Polsat Sport 2
Portugal	Sport TV2