Robbie Keane - International Career

International Career

Keane is joint second, with Raúl and Jan Koller, on the list of all-time top scorers in European Championship qualification.

Keane was part of the so-called "Golden Generation" of Republic of Ireland youth football of the late 1990s. Under the guidance of Brian Kerr, the unfancied Republic won the UEFA U-16 and U-18 European championships in 1998, and Robbie was part of the victorious U-18 side in Cyprus. In 1999, he played at the World Youth Cup in Nigeria, where the Republic reached the last 16 before going out on penalties to the hosts. His first Ireland cap came against the Czech Republic in Olomouc in March 1998, scoring his first senior goal against Malta in October that year. He won his 70th cap in the Republic's 5–0 defeat of San Marino, scoring a hat-trick along the way.

Keane was selected by Mick McCarthy as part of the Republic of Ireland squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, scoring three goals in Ireland's four games. Keane scored an injury-time equaliser against Germany in the group stage match as the Irish surprised many by holding the former champions to a draw. This was the first of only three goals which Germany conceded in the tournament (the other two were scored in the final by Brazilian legend Ronaldo). In the Round of 16 match against Spain, he scored a last-minute penalty to force the game into extra-time and a penalty shoot-out after the Irish had gone a goal down early in the first half, but eventually lost 3–2 on penalties.

Although the Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Keane scored four goals in the Republic's eight qualifying matches. Following Steve Staunton's appointment as the manager of the Republic of Ireland, Keane was appointed captain. In their first game under Staunton, Keane scored the second goal in the 3–0 victory against Sweden at Lansdowne Road, and celebrated the final match at the Lansdowne Road stadium, against San Marino, with a hat trick. Giovanni Trapattoni, who took over from Staunton, maintained Keane as team captain starting in his first game in charge against Serbia on 24 May 2008 which ended in a 1–1 draw.

As captain, Keane led the team to a second place finish in the 2010 World Cup qualifying. He scored his 40th international goal against Cyprus, a header in the 83rd minute, which secured a 2–1 win for Ireland. Along with Dimitar Berbatov, he topped the scoring chart in the qualifying group with 5 goals in 10 games. His 41st international goal came in the controversial 2010 World Cup play-off with France on 18 November 2009. This was his 26th goal in competitive (non-friendly) internationals.

Keane won his 100th cap against Argentina in a 1–0 friendly defeat on 11 August 2010. This match was also the first international football match at the new Aviva Stadium. He scored his 45th international goal against Russia in October 2010. It was the first time Ireland had lost a game in which Robbie Keane had scored. Previously, Ireland had won 26 and drew 10 of the 36 games in which Keane had scored He broke the record for most appearances as a captain on 26 March 2011, beating Andy Townsend's record and also scored a goal in the process.

Keane took part in the inaugural Nations Cup for Ireland, which took place in February and May 2011. He ended the tournament as top scorer, despite not having played in the Republic's first game against Wales. Keane scored three goals in total, two against Northern Ireland in a 5–0 victory, and what proved to be the tournament's winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Scotland. The Republic of Ireland emerged from the competition victorious, having won all three of their games without conceding a goal.

On 4 June 2011, Robbie Keane scored twice against the Republic of Macedonia in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 to become the first Irish player to score more than 50 goals. Following the game with Macedonia his total stood at 51 goals. Now, following the Republic of Ireland's play-off hammering of Estonia which secured qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, Keane's international goal tally stands at 53.