AFTER A WHIRLWIND three months in the company of world football’s elite, the finish line is in sight in the Euro 2025 qualifying Group of Death.
The Republic of Ireland come full circle against France at Páirc Uí Chaoimh [KO 6pm, live on RTÉ 2], as they look to finish on a high against the team they started against in Metz in April. Over 14,500 tickets have been sold for the historic clash in Cork, the first women’s football international at the Páirc.
Both teams have very different targets coming in: Les Bleues have already qualified for next summer’s European Championship finals, but they’ll be looking to top the group. Ireland, who have endured five defeats from five, have always had the safety net of a play-off and are closing in on the final seeded position.
Eileen Gleeson’s side are in direct competition with Poland for a slightly easier route to Switzerland 2025, and they currently lead the goal difference stakes by four. Maintaining that superiority is “definitely the starting point” this evening, Gleeson insists, as the Poles host high-flying Iceland at the same time.
Another huge defensive shift is required on Leeside after Friday’s 2-1 defeat to England in Norwich. This was a comfortable win for the defending champions, but the returning Julie-Ann Russell ensured Ireland signed off on a positive note with their first goal of the campaign — and year outright.
Another would be nice this evening, but a stern French examination awaits. The reality is damage limitation must take precedence first and foremost against the team ranked second in the world, 23 places above Ireland.
Hervé Renard’s Olympic-bound side scored in the seventh minute of April’s meeting and flexed their considerable muscle in Metz, but it finished in a creditable 1-0 defeat.
There began Ireland’s unwanted trend of conceding early: after 12 minutes, and then 18, in the 2-0 loss to England at the Aviva Stadium; 26 minutes in the 3-0 reversal to Sweden at the same venue, and the game wasn’t yet five-minutes-old when the Lionesses broke the deadlock last week.
“Our opening phase, we don’t want to concede early,” said Gleeson yesterday. “It’s been a feature in our games and we need to make sure we’re not chasing early.”
Another source of frustration for the Irish head coach and her players is that many of the goals conceded have been “preventable” and errors, unnecessary. Courtney Brosnan has been immense in goal for the most part, but Ireland are yet to keep a clean sheet in this insanely-difficult group.
Perhaps, they can take inspiration from Dave Connell’s U19s who held defending champions Spain to a 0-0 draw in their Euros opener in Lithuania yesterday.
Gleeson and several players — among them captain Katie McCabe, who returns from suspension against France — insist Ireland have evolved and improved in recent months.
They played a lot deeper at the outset of the campaign, but have been moving higher up the pitch. Striking a balance between defence and attack, being passive and aggressive. After a shaky start at Carrow Road, they eventually employed a higher press rather successfully and asked some questions of England.
“I think what we saw on Friday was much better transition phases in the build-up,” said Gleeson. “We were a lot better, calmer and composed in possession. We were much more aggressive and we can take a lot away from that.”
“The opposition is world-class but the biggest thing we’ve learned is when we can go forward or sit back,” Denise O’Sullivan, one of the Rebel representatives in the squad, added.
“That’s a balance, whether we sit deep or just keep running for 90 minutes, going forward but then get opened up. Every time we play against these teams, we’re learning.”
Ireland XIs have been unpredictable under Gleeson. She sprung some surprises in Norwich, dropping Louise Quinn and starting Emily Murphy and Amber Barrett up top. That duo failed to fire as final third struggles continued, but goalscorer Russell and Leanne Kiernan did inject energy and impetus in the second half. In-game tweaks to the defence and midfield also paid dividends, while Gleeson’s other substitutes worked. Quinn and long-throw specialist Megan Campbell helped to set up the goal.
In the absence of the injured Kyra Carusa, Russell and Kiernan will be in the conversation to start tonight, but Campbell doesn’t appear to be as her minutes are managed. Quinn may return to solidify the defence, while McCabe will most definitely reclaim her wide left position. Her link-up with the excellent O’Sullivan will be key, as always.
Already-qualified France, meanwhile, will likely rest some of their star names in Eugénie La Sommer, Wendy Renard and Kadidiatou Diani ahead of the Olympics later this month. But with no shortage of pace and power, they will still field a world-class team on the Banks of the Lee.
“Our target is to finish top of the group because that will be important when it comes to the draw for Euro 2025,” the outgoing Hervé Renard confirmed. He later echoed Kenny Shiels’ controversial sentiments that “women are more emotional than men,” but the less said about that, the better.
“We have to finish these qualifiers like the manner we have played good games before,” Renard added. “We know it will be a very tough game, we have to be very serious.
“It is a very difficult team to play against. This is the characteristic of Irish football. We know exactly this team. We respect this team. I’m sure they would like to finish the group in a better way.”
Undoubtedly, as the play-offs loom large. Ireland will learn their fate in Friday’s draw, with the games getting underway in late October.
First though, they’re hoping to stop a run of six successive defeats (after six consecutive wins in League B of the Nations League and a draw against Italy) and avoid equalling the losing record of seven in-a-row.
That came when Vera Pauw chose to face higher-ranked teams in preparation for World Cup qualification — and evidently reaped its rewards as Ireland reached their first-ever major tournament.
The race is on to qualify for a second in Euro 2025, and the Girls In Green are confident lessons learned through unforgiving defeats to the world’s best will stand to them in the play-offs.
The journey continues in Cork.
