U21 side. Republic of Ireland In August 2001, Morrison was called up to the senior team squad for the first time. Morrison made his debut for Ireland in a 2–2 draw on 15 August 2001 against Croatia; he entered the game as a 52nd-minute substitute and scored the national side's second goal of the game. Morrison then played in the second leg of World Cup Play–Off against Iran, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, as Ireland went on to win 2–1 on aggregate to qualify for the World Cup. He later describe playing in Iran as "one of the craziest atmospheres he ever played in". Morrison then scored his second national goal, in a 3–0 win against Denmark on 27 March 2002 when "his pace and directness continued to cause the Danish defence problems and, in injury time Colin Healy and David Connolly combined to leave him a chance which he side-footed in". He was selected by Mick McCarthy as part of the Republic of Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. However, he did not play. Morrison's international career began to gain momentum during his time at Birmingham City. He scored his first competitive international goal in a 4–2 European Championship qualifying defeat to Russia in Moscow in September 2002. The next two years saw Morrison scored two more goals for Republic of Ireland in a friendly match against Scotland and Australia. Morrison later became a key part of the side as the Republic of Ireland competed for a place at World Cup 2006. He scored three goals in the qualifying campaign, but Brian Kerr's side finished fourth in a tight group that included Switzerland, France and Israel. At one point during the qualifying campaign, Morrison accused Alexander Frei of making a racist comment to him during the Switzerland and Republic of Ireland match on 9 September 2004. Frei refuted Morrison's claim, and no sanctions were levied against Frei. Despite scoring in 11 out of 14 games for Palace, Morrison was not called into the Ireland squad to face Brazil in a friendly in February 2008. However, his continued good form with Palace led to him being recognised by Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni in his first provisional 40-man squad, though he did not make it to the 28-man squad. Following this, Morrison was never featured in the national team squad and ended his international