Retiring or not, Coleman feels nation's pain as much if not more than the rest

At 37, Seamus Coleman's Irish swansong may be approaching. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

There can be some consolation when the end of a campaign feels like the start of a new one.

If Heimir Hallgrímsson is correct by calling this a journey for his Ireland team, there can be sadness too when one passenger departs.

We will know soon if his captain Séamus Coleman remains aboard or leaves the international stage at the age of 37.

He will be 39 when the next tournament, Euro 2028, comes around.

Given the club skipper has operated on 12-month contracts at Everton in recent years, he may consider quitting the international scene is imperative to extending his club service.

Coleman, in his true modest way, batted away queries about potential retirement after Thursday’s penalty shootout defeat in Czechia that ended his ambitions of adorning his CV with a World Cup appearance.

“I’ll be honest, it’s not something I’m thinking about,” he confessed.

“Talking about myself after the nation, the supporters, the players, went out in the manner that we went out would be selfish. It’s not something that I’ve really dissected myself at the minute.”

Coleman was solid at the back again on Thursday but it wasn't enough to get his side over the line. Pic: Adam Davy/PA

His pain for the collective was most pronounced, yet the stark reality of what unfolded in Prague had to be confronted too.

“You probably shouldn’t let them back into the game when you go 2-0 up away from home,” he said of the blistering start generated by Troy Parrott’s penalty and an own-goal.

“We probably left it behind us to be honest. Taking the emotion out of it, that’s the first thing I would say.

“It was there for us but at this level you’ve got to keep going because all the small details matter.

“At 2-0, we should have kept our foot on the gas and made better decisions. It’s very easy to come out and say it’s emotional and the fans are great - we know they are - but we’re disappointed to let them back in.” 

Losing the tie hurtles Ireland into an unwanted meeting on Tuesday with North Macedonia, beaten 4-0 by Denmark in the other semi-final.

With friendlies in June and the Uefa Nations League campaign from September to November, the low-key friendly, designated as competitive by Uefa for television reasons, could be his swansong if he calls it quits.

“I’m not even thinking about tomorrow,” the Donegalman said in the aftermath of Thursday’s body-blow.

“We still had a big hurdle on Tuesday night coming back home (against Denmark) but we felt in a great place.

“Our players will get over it because this is part and parcel of football.

“Across plenty of teams since the 2002 World Cup to now, some amazing players never got to the World Cup.

“We stepped it up from last October but couldn’t see it out tonight. From a professional perspective, that’s the most difficult part to take but we’ll go again.”