Ranking the top seven players from Ireland’s qualification campaign

It wasn't to be.

We fought hard, we rode our luck and genuinely looked like we were going to qualify a couple of times. But we fell short, Ireland's absence from the World Cup continues. The campaign was mixed with the good and the bad, but it's time to reflect on the top seven players from this campaign. 7. Stephen Ward Everyone is entitled to a bad game, that’s football. It’s just a pity for Stephen Ward that he had his against Denmark as the entire nation was watching. But one bad performance shouldn’t take away from the fact that Ward has had a great campaign for the Boys in Green. Before Euro 2016, the perception of Ward was definitely not what it is now. The Burnley defender was possibly seen as a liability in his Wolverhampton Wanderers days, with some of the criticism fair and a lot of it not. But now he’s a regular starter in the Premier League and his performances for Ireland have reflected that. One bad game isn’t enough to knock him off this list. 6. Seamus Coleman  You can’t help but feel for Coleman, anytime you see the Ireland captain you just want him back playing. Before his nasty leg break against Wales, Coleman was one of Ireland’s best players and dug us out of a mess a couple of times. Watching Coleman on that right-hand side you feel safe knowing it’ll take a really clever footballer to beat him. His leadership skills are irreplaceable, not to mention bundling the ball into the goal against Georgia to save our blushes. If Keane didn’t leave Saipan how far would Ireland have gone in the World Cup? If Coleman wasn’t injured would Ireland have made the World Cup? The answer to both is that we’ll never know. 5. Wes Hoolahan Oh, how he would be so much higher! Oh, how his career with Ireland could be more illustrious! Despite making his debut in 2008, Hoolahan has only made 40 appearances for Ireland and, as we all know, despite his abundance of talent, he still struggles to make the teamsheet. At 35 years old this may be it for Hoolahan, he’s struggling to get his game for Norwich and the same with Ireland, his playing time for Ireland this campaign doesn’t make for good reading. 0 minutes: Serbia 2-2 Ireland 0 minutes: Ireland 1-0 Georgia 86 minutes: Moldova 1-3 Ireland 78 minutes: Austria 0-1 Ireland 0 minutes: Ireland 0-0 Wales 20 minutes: Ireland 1-1 Austria 0 minutes: Georgia 1-1 Ireland 61 minutes: Ireland 0-1 Serbia 79 minutes: Ireland 2-0 Moldova 0 minutes: Wales 0-1 Ireland 0 minutes: Denmark 0-0 Ireland 45 minutes: Ireland 1-5 Denmark Wes Hoolahan has played 369 minutes of a possible 1080. But look at what he did while on the pitch. He set up Shane Long and James McClean against Moldova and Austria away with passes that just aren’t seen by any other player in the squad. Even against Denmark he immediately started causing havoc. After that night in Vienna, it seemed that Hoolahan was undroppable but evidently he is. 4. David Meyler  At the start of the campaign Meyler certainly wasn’t a name that people would have said if you were told to name a player that has to start. But he seized the moment when it came. Meyler came on away to Austria and was fantastic. The Hull player was finally the man to dethrone Glenn Whelan from that holding midfield spot that he occupied for 83 games and even received the captain’s armband at the end of it all. Wales may have been his shining moment in an Ireland jersey. 3. Shane Duffy  Isn’t it nice having a centre back and just thinking ‘Nothing is going to get past him’? John O’Shea was the man to lead the defence for years but now Duffy has taken over that role. Goals against Georgia and Denmark help Duffy’s case but in Wales, he came of age with a Man of the Match performance. https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/917497364595773440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Fshane-duffy-ireland-wales-139074 The Brighton player has been in such fine form for club and country that Jamie Carragher has even been raving about him and is now regarded as one of our best players. 2. Darren Randolph  How is this guy playing in the Championship? When you look at a goalkeeper you just want them to be solid, good under a high ball and well able to organise his back four. Randolph did that this entire campaign and even in the 5-1 defeat to Denmark, he was one of the few that could leave with his head held high. Copenhagen was Randolph’s finest hour but throughout the entire campaign, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. 1. James McClean https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/928741820187774976 There’s not much you need to say about this man really.

• Two goals against Moldova
• Scored the winner in a shock away win against Austria
• Scored the winner in a shock away win against Wales

Passion bleeds out of this man, his speechless postmatch interview against Denmark says it all. https://twitter.com/RTEsport/status/930552598536396800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Fjames-mccleans-heartbreaking-interview-genuinely-tough-watch-141877 Ireland’s top goalscorer and a man that never stopped running for his country. He tops the list.