Ireland teenagers forced to sing own anthem after God Save the King played at Euro qualifier

As the players lined up for the pre-match preliminaries in Albena, God Save the King began to play in place of the Irish anthem.

Wed, 26 Nov, 2025 - 14:00

Cian Locke

Ireland fans and players had to show they can hold a tune in an impromptu rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann after organisers in Bulgaria played the British anthem ahead of Wednesday's WU19 European qualifier between Ireland and Bulgaria.

As the players lined up for the pre-match preliminaries in Albena, God Save the King began to play in place of the Irish anthem.

After howls of protest from the Irish contingent at the match, the music quickly shut off. But with no replacement lined up, coaches, fans and players had to belt out the song acapella.

Well this is pretty embarassing.

The Ireland WNT U19s are playing Sweden today in Bulgaria in a Euro qualifier.

Someone thought Ireland's national anthem was 'God Save The King' 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/dY1tKZn8Mp
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 26, 2025

Despite the early show of pride, the Irish women lost the match 3-1, with Swedish attacker Ella Lundin scoring early on and again just past the hour.

Katie Lawlee of Treaty United pulled one back for Dave Connell's side with 17 minutes left, but Agnes Ekberg wrapped up the win for the Swedes five minutes from time.