Eoin Toal (born 15 February 1999) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Bolton Wanderers and the Northern Ireland national team.

Early and personal life Toal was born in Armagh. One of his uncles, Peter Rafferty, and one of his cousins, Ethan Rafferty, played for Armagh in Gaelic football. Peter later managed Armagh U21 to All-Ireland glory in 2004. Eoin himself played Gaelic football until the age of 14, deciding instead to switch to association football. Another uncle, Mickey Toal, and another cousin, Thomas Mackle, both played Irish road bowling, with Mickey considered a legend in the sport, whilst Thomas has won the All-Ireland Championship.

Club career Toal began his career with Armagh City, captaining the youth team and making his first-team debut in 2015 aged 16, making over 50 appearances for the club in all competitions, before moving to Derry City in 2017. He served as club captain for Derry City, making 155 appearances for the club in all competitions. He started and played in the 2019 League of Ireland Cup final, and even converted one of the penalties in the penalty shootout, but it wasn't enough as they lost to Dundalk.

Toal signed for Bolton Wanderers in July 2022 on a three-year contract. It was reported in 2024 that Bolton paid £50,000 for the defender.

Toal picked up an ankle injury towards the end of his time at Derry, choosing to play through the injury as he did not want to miss their matches in the UEFA Europa Conference League against Riga. In doing so, he worsened the injury which caused him to miss Bolton's pre-season, as well as the start of their season. Upon his return from injury, he played for Bolton's B team to build up match fitness. He then stepped up his recovery by playing matches in the EFL Trophy. After more matches for the B team, as well as the EFL Trophy, Toal made his Football League debut on 2 December 2022 in a 1–1 draw against Bristol Rovers, with Toal being praised for his performance. Three weeks later he scored his first Bolton goal, scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City. He received praise from his teammates for how well he had played during the start of his Bolton career and was named Bolton Player of the Month for December 2022. On 2 April, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy final which Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle. He was forced off towards the end of the match after a challenge by Sam Cosgrove, with Bolton manager Ian Evatt accusing Cosgrove of injuring him on purpose. A few days later, it was revealed the injury would possibly keep Toal out for the rest of the season. Toal recovered much earlier than expected though, allowing him to return for Bolton's last few games of the season. On 4 March 2024, he signed a new three-year contract with Bolton. On 2 August 2025, he was named the new Bolton captain. A week later, he scored his first goal as captain in a 2–0 win against Plymouth Argyle — the same team that injured him in the EFL Trophy final in 2023, gaining a small measure of revenge. Bolton won the 2026 EFL League One play-offs and gained promotion to the EFL Championship. Toal played in both legs of the semi-final, but missed the final due to an injury picked up in the semi final. He still lifted the trophy as captain.

International career Toal first played international football with the Northern Ireland under-15 team. He later played three times for the under-17 team in 2015, three times for the under-19 team in 2017, and 13 times for the under-21 team between 2019 and 2020. He scored one goal during this time, on 7 October 2017 in a 7–1 defeat against Germany under-19. He captained the under-21 team on multiple occasions.

On 7 March 2023, he received his first call-up to the Northern Irish senior national team by manager Michael O'Neill, for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against San Marino and Finland. His debut came seven months later on 17 October when he started in a 1–0 qualifier defeat against Slovenia.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDerry City2017League of Ireland Premier Division300000—302018League of Ireland Premier Division3010020—3212019League of Ireland Premier Division3522040—4122020League of Ireland Premier Division18020—112112021League of Ireland Premier Division34120——3612022League of Ireland Premier Division20100—20221Total14056060311556Bolton Wanderers2022–23League One2230000903132023–24League One4043010715152024–25League One1920020102222025–26League One3732000304232026–27Championship4000100050Total12212504020115113Career total2621711010023230619

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNorthern Ireland202330202450202520202610Total110

Honours Derry City League of Ireland Cup runner-up: 2019

Bolton Wanderers EFL Trophy: 2022–23 EFL League One play-offs: 2026

References