Liam Kitching Earns First Ireland Call-Up as Rocco Vata Returns

Heimir Hallgrímsson named a 26-man group on Thursday for Ireland’s opening four UEFA Nations League fixtures against Kosovo, Israel, Austria and Israel again between 24 September and 4 October. Nathan Collins misses the window with a calf injury, while Séamus Coleman and Robbie Brady are also absent. Kitching is the only first-time call-up, but he isn’t the only name who would have looked slightly unexpected on an Ireland squad sheet a few months ago.

His own rise has been fairly quick. Kitching only joined Sheffield United on loan from Coventry City this month and went straight into Chris Wilder’s side, having already built up plenty of Championship experience with Coventry. He made 38 league appearances last season and now gives Hallgrímsson another naturally left-footed centre-back at a particularly useful time, with Collins unavailable for the whole window.

A few weeks ago, Kitching was settling into another Championship dressing room. Now there’s a chance his next new shirt could be a green one.

Vata’s route back has taken considerably longer. The Watford attacker was first brought into the senior Ireland squad in March 2025 after impressing at club and Under-21 level, but injuries stalled most of what came afterwards. Two hamstring problems disrupted his season and he gradually drifted out of the senior picture while trying to get himself properly fit again.

He has started to put those interruptions behind him this season. Vata has returned to Championship action with Watford and started their win over Preston earlier this month. There hasn’t been a flood of goals yet, but he is only 21 and this is still a player Ireland are developing rather than somebody expected to arrive and immediately run the attack. After a year and a half away from the squad, simply being back around it is a decent start.

Elding has had to clear a slightly stranger hurdle.

The 20-year-old trained with Ireland during the summer while his citizenship was still being finalised, meaning Hallgrímsson could watch him in training but couldn’t actually pick him for a match. It was a very Irish international football situation: the player was there, the manager wanted a look at him and the final obstacle was paperwork.

By then Elding had already given Hallgrímsson plenty to think about. He scored 16 times for Sligo Rovers in 2025, won the PFA Ireland Young Player of the Year award and moved to Hibernian in January in a deal Sligo said could eventually rise to seven figures.

He didn’t take long to settle in Scotland either. Elding scored just 13 seconds into his first Hibs start and finished last season with three goals from eight appearances. This season he has continued to make himself difficult to ignore, scoring against Malisheva and Shkendija in Europe before grabbing the winner against Partick Thistle in the League Cup.

There have been a few bumps along the way. He had a penalty saved away to Gent and subsequently missed the return leg through injury, while his Scottish Premiership minutes have been more limited than his European involvement. Still, three goals by the middle of August was a pretty decent way of making sure the citizenship process didn’t become the only thing people were talking about.

Jack Moylan has been moving just as quickly.

The former Shelbourne midfielder went into the summer as one of the more interesting names around Hallgrímsson’s expanded group, then scored a hat-trick on his senior Ireland debut against Grenada. Since then he has joined Cardiff City from Lincoln, scored five minutes into his Cardiff debut against Swindon and established himself in Brian Barry-Murphy’s Championship side.

Moylan had already scored 11 goals and supplied seven assists in League One last season, so the move wasn’t exactly coming from nowhere. What has changed is the level. A little over two years ago he was playing at Tolka Park. Now he is starting regularly in the Championship and has kept his place when Ireland have moved from summer friendlies into competitive internationals.

That pathway is worth watching on its own. Moylan and Elding have both come through League of Ireland football, taken different routes abroad and arrived in the same Ireland squad within months of each other. There’s no grand theory needed there. It’s simply two more examples of domestic football producing players capable of moving quickly once the opportunity arrives.

Tom Cannon is another who has survived the transition from the summer internationals. The Sheffield United striker scored twice for Ireland against Grenada in May and has started this club season among the goals again, including a finish against Blackburn earlier this month.

There is a little more competition around Ireland’s attacking places now than there was this time last year. Cannon is scoring, Moylan is playing every week, Elding has made an impact in Scotland and Europe, while Vata is finally back playing after a long spell of injuries. None of them are guaranteed anything, but Hallgrímsson at least has a few more genuine decisions to make.

The defensive side is less comfortable.

Collins suffered a calf injury with Brentford earlier this month and will miss all four internationals. Coleman is also absent and remains without a club following the end of his 17-year spell with Everton. The 37-year-old has been keeping himself fit and has spoken about Hallgrímsson encouraging him to stay involved with Ireland, but he won’t be part of this window.

That means Ireland head into four competitive games without two of the players who have worn the captain’s armband under Hallgrímsson, while Kitching arrives for the first time and several of the younger names move a little closer to the centre of the squad.

The change has happened quickly. Back in May, Elding was still waiting for his Irish citizenship to be sorted, Moylan had barely started his senior international career, Vata had been out of the picture for more than a year and Kitching had never been called up.

Now they’re all heading into the same Nations League window.

Ireland begin away to Kosovo in Pristina on 24 September before facing Israel in Debrecen three days later. Austria visit the Aviva Stadium on 1 October, with the window finishing against Israel in Serbia on 4 October.

Four competitive internationals in 11 days should give Hallgrímsson plenty of opportunity to use the squad. It should also tell us fairly quickly which of the newer names are ready to hang around.