THE IRELAND Women’s Under-19 team’s 2026 European Championship qualifying campaign got off to an inauspicious start when the wrong anthem was played ahead of their opening clash with Sweden today.
To add insult to injury, instead of Amhrán na bhFiann, it was British national anthem God Save the King that blared out from the PA system.
However, the Irish players themselves rose to the occasion, belting out an a cappella version of their national anthem on the pitch in Albena, Bulgaria, where the Group A5 qualifiers are being held.
Following the conclusion of the Swedish anthem, the announcer asked spectators to remain standing for the Irish national anthem.
However, as the players turned to face the Tricolour, it was the unlikely strains of God Save the King that rang around the ground.
Following a few shouts and whistles behind the scenes, the music was hastily cut off after around 10 seconds.
The bewildered players waited around 30 seconds but with no sign of the ‘technical difficulties’ being fixed, they took it upon themselves to proudly belt out the anthem.
The impressive, impromptu performance was met with hearty applause and cheers at Stadium Albena 1.
Despite the rousing show of patriotism, Ireland unfortunately slipped to a 3-1 defeat on the pitch in their group opener.
Katie Lawlee scored in the second half to make it 2-1 after Ella Lundin’s brace but Sweden made sure of the win through Agnes Ekberg’s late strike.
Ireland next face Poland on Saturday before closing out Round 1 of qualifying against hosts Bulgaria on Tuesday.