 He scored his second goal for Ireland against Italy with a spectacular strike from almost 25 yards on 10 October 2009 in a 2–2 draw.Whelan started the matches in both legs against France as Ireland were controversially knocked out 2–1 on aggregate after extra-time.Whelan again was ever present in Ireland's midfield for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying and he was also part of the team that secured qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with an unprecedented 5–1 aggregate play-off win over Estonia.