All-Ireland SFC final preview: Is Sam headed for the Hills or the Kingdom?

July 27, 2025

Ryan McHugh of Donegal arrives at Croke Park for the All-Ireland SFC final against Kerry ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

These days the last Sunday in July means that the Sam Maguire Cup is up for grabs at Croke Park and the famous Dublin stadium is set to be a sea of green and gold, with some alternate blue and white sprinkled around its green patch in the middle come 3.30pm this afternoon.

All-Ireland football final day is always a special occasion and the build-up to its 137th edition has been incredible so far, as Jim McGuinness’s Donegal look to take down a Kerry side lining out in their third showpiece in four years.

The first Sam Maguire Cup decider to be played under the new rules, fans across the globe are hoping for a classic shootout at headquarters between the last two standing in the race for Gaelic football's most coveted prize, with so much of the talk leading up to today being centred around one man.

David Clifford’s form this summer has been nothing short of remarkable with 8-53 racked up to date in the championship and the Fossa sensation is already 4/6 odds to be named 2025 Footballer of the Year.

The Kingdom superstar’s threat is terrifying, but there’s a feeling out there that Glenties mastermind McGuinness will have the formula to curtail him just enough for Donegal to reach the Promised Land for the first time since 2012.

That is, after all, why the Tir Chonaill County’s “messiah” returned to the helm two years ago and veteran Michael Murphy was persuaded to come back this year for the same reason.

2012 captain Murphy, current skipper Paddy McBrearty and two-time All-Star defender Ryan McHugh were all involved in the All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry 11 years ago. The 2-9 to 0-12 loss that day marked the end of McGuinness’s trophy-laden first tenure with his county and how all four men would love to avenge that defeat at Croker today.

It’s one of the most hotly anticipated All-Ireland SFC finals in years and one that also seems to close to call. It’s Donegal that get the nod to shade it here, but don’t rule out extra time to separate these two giants when all’s said and done.

Sunday, July 27th

All-Ireland SFC final
Kerry v Donegal, Croke Park, 3.30pm 

Line-ups

Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian O Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White; Sean O'Brien, Mark O'Shea; Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Shea, Graham O'Sullivan; David Clifford, Paudie Clifford, Dylan Geaney.

Subs: Shane Murphy, Killian Spillane, Evan Looney, Tom Leo O'Sullivan, Tadhg Morley, Paul Geaney, Micheal Burns, Tony Brosnan, Armin Heinrich, Tomas Kennedy, Diarmuid O'Connor.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Caolan McColgan; Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan; Shane O'Donnell, Ciaran Thompson, Ciaran Moore; Conor O'Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen.

Subs: Gavin Mulreany, Stephen McMenamin, Odhran McFadden Ferry, Eoin McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Aaron Doherty, Patrick McBrearty, Jamie Brennan, Niall O'Donnell, Daire O Baoill, Jason McGee.

Where to watch

Coverage on RTÉ One and RTE Player commences from 2.15pm, with full Irish language coverage from 2.55pm on RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player.

BBC Sport NI offers live coverage of the game across BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Northern Ireland and on the BBC Sport NI website, with BBC Two's starting at 3pm.

Weather forecast

Met Eireann is forecasting dry weather with a mix of sunshine and a few scattered passing showers. Highest temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees in mostly moderate westerly winds. For more visit met.ie.

Match Odds (PaddyPower)

Kerry 1/1; Donegal 6/5; Draw 7/1

What the experts say

Peter Canavan: “The way they (Donegal) played against Meath and finished against Monaghan, I just think they have so many options, and they won’t make the same mistakes that Tyrone did regarding (David) Clifford so for all those reasons, in a tight enough game, I think Donegal will shade it.”

Paul Flynn: “There really is so little to choose between the teams. It’s a clash of styles, a clash of stars, and a clash of wills. I genuinely can't split them. Extra time? Maybe. A replay? Don’t rule it out.

“One thing’s for sure, this has all the ingredients of a classic and I think we will back doing a prediction show in a fortnight.

"It is going to come down to how each team can get after the offensive strategy of the other. Donegal have players that can score from all angles from their running game and ball inside, whilst Kerry have Sean O'Shea as well as David and Paudie Clifford.”

Joe Brolly: "I think Donegal will win because they're multi-purpose. They're not relying on one individual. They've worked with a basketball coach. McGuinness actually said it the week that the new rules were unveiled.

"He said 'We're going back to the old game, this is all about scoring rate.' They're scoring 1-27, 1-28, 3-25. Paddy McBrearty was asked after the All-Ireland semi-final about how he'd be pushing for a place in starting fifteen and he said he'd be pushing for a place in the matchday 26! There's massive competition there because Jim has this messianic quality."

Lee Keegan: “On balance, I think Kerry have slightly more capacity to vary up their approach, whereas Donegal are tightly aligned to one philosophy. One potential opportunity for Kerry is if they can get ahead in the game, will they force Donegal to deviate from their preferred template?

“Will the Ulster champions stop working the ball in close and start snatching at lower percentage two-pointers?

“So, as of now, I'll give a tentative nod to Kerry. But that could change by the time we go live on air on Sunday.”

Philly McMahon: "It will come down to which team is going to be strong defensively and who is going to win the shootout and for me, it is going to be Donegal.”

Paths to the final


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