After the heroics they performed during Italia 90, the Irish knew they were capable of qualifying for Euro 92. They started off their campaign sweeping to a fine 5-0 win over Turkey, including a hat trick from John Aldridge. They entertained England in Dublin in their next match, a game that proved to be as unwatchable as the one during the 1990 world cup finals; however a 1-1 result was by no means a disaster for the Irish. In the return fixture against England at Wembley, they drew the match 1-1, in a game they dominated from the start. In May 1991, they only managed a goal less draw at home to Poland and met the Poles in Poznan in October, after taking a 3-1 lead thanks to goals coming from Tony Cascarino, they surrendered their advantage late on and the result ended 3-3. The Irish met Turkey in Izmir and breezed through to a comfortable 3-1 win, however England narrowly pipped them at the top of the group.
The Irish started their 1994 world cup qualification campaign with convincing wins against Latvia and Albania before enjoying two valuable draws away against Spain and Denmark. The Irish stormed the group, enjoying a 3-0 win against Northern Ireland that was followed up by three wins, all coming away, against Lithuania, Latvia and Albania. By the time they met Spain in Dublin in October 1993, they already guaranteed a place in the finals, so the 3-1 defeat proved to be academic.
In preparing for the 1994 world cup finals, they enjoyed victories against Bolivia and reigning world champions, Germany.
The Irish got off to a flyer in the finals, winning 1-0 against Italy that was followed up by a 2-1 defeat against Mexico and a fine draw against Norway. They were eliminated narrowly in the second round, suffering a 2-0 defeat against a very strong Dutch side. The Irish had a strong team including Ray Houghton, Gary Kelly, Andy Townsend, Jason McAteer and Steve Staunton.