IRELAND KICKSTART THEIR quest to reach their first-ever European Championships with a play-off against Georgia this week, but little of the build-up has centred on the game itself.
Eileen Gleeson’s side are in Tbilisi for Friday’s first leg against the minnows, before rounding off the double-header at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday.
This hurdle is one they’re expected to clear with ease, before another play-off showdown against Wales or Slovakia in late November/early December.
Ireland won their two 2023 World Cup qualifiers against Georgia 20-0 on aggregate (11-0 at home and 9-0 away), while there’s a 94-place chasm between the sides in the Fifa World Rankings (24th and 118th).
Gleeson and all involved stress there will be no complacency, with only Georgia on their mind. But this one isn’t exactly under the brightest spotlight.
Last week’s squad announcement press conference was dominated by non-game related questions and other Irish women’s football issues, leaving the head coach visibly frustrated.
Gleeson responded to criticism from now-former Athlone Town manager Ciarán Kilduff and rejected claims there is a “disconnect” between the national team and the Women’s Premier Division.
She elaborated on the reasons for scrapping home-based sessions and plans for a future U23 team, and discussed the difference in standards at home and abroad.
“International football is elite level,” the former Peamount, DLR Waves and Glasgow City manager said. “League of Ireland players are in direct competition with players who are in professional environments and full-time environments.”
One amateur domestic player who has bridged the gap is Galway United star Julie-Ann Russell. (Uncapped duo Katie Keane and Eva Mangan are also in the current squad).
Russell returned to the international fold this summer, ending a four-year wait to add to her 60 senior caps after living in Australia and becoming a mother. She did so in style with goals against England and France, and will hope to continue her remarkable run against Georgia.
The 33-year-old was among those on media duty in Dublin on Monday, where she outlined the ‘professional’ lifestyle she endeavours to follow.
“You need to be training like a pro and looking after yourself to make the Ireland squad,” Russell said, amidst ongoing debate and discourse.
At Home with Julie-Ann Russell and Rosie 🏠#COYGIG pic.twitter.com/CDAlFZn6mo
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) October 22, 2024
”I train twice a day – CrossFit in the afternoon and with Galway in the evening. I’m super into my nutrition and I’m trying to get as much sleep as I can with [16-month-old baby] Rosie. You need to have that mindset. I don’t think everyone in the league might be able to get to that standard, but I think the clubs are progressing.
“There still is that gap, don’t get me wrong, and you need to be living like a pro to get there. So it is there for some people, but for other people, not.”
Russell spoke about her love of exercise and movement — she did CrossFit up to Rosie’s due date, and completed her first marathon in three hours and 48 minutes, four months after giving birth — and believes she is the “fittest and strongest I’ve ever been” as she juggles football with her full-time job with Microsoft.
Jessie Stapleton was also up for interview, the 19-year-old West Ham United player currently on loan at Sunderland. Stapleton made the move to London in the summer of 2023, having previously excelled for Shelbourne in the Women’s Premier Division.
She has been a professional ever since, enjoying and enduring the cut and thrust of full-time football.
The Championship has been the Dubliner’s hunting ground since last January, first with Reading and now with the Black Cats, where she will remain for the 2024/25 season.
“I’m absolutely loving it,” Stapleton said.
“The coaching, the lifestyle, the culture, the environment, I’m really enjoying it. The set-up is unbelievable. The coaches are class, top of the range. I feel like I’m just improving and getting game time, which is the main thing.”
Both players are at very differing stages, the contrast in their day-to-day lives stark, but they share the same Euro 2025 dream.
They’ll look to take another step towards making that a reality on Friday at Mikheil Meskhi II Stadium in Tbilisi.
This game is off-Broadway, to say the very least — a definite comedown from Ireland’s glamorous qualification group with England, France and Sweden — and likely to be overshadowed by the penultimate round of League of Ireland fixtures.
23 players travelled to Georgia on Tuesday: Louise Quinn and Megan Connolly have been ruled out through injury, while first-choice goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan is suspended.
These absences should cause little stress, with the bigger test to follow.
Not that Ireland are thinking that way. Only Georgia on their mind.
“I think we’re in really good shape going into these two games, but our focus is only on getting past them and worrying about the next challenges after that,” Stapleton concluded.
“Regarding past results, it’s a nice little bit of confidence but, at the same time, football is crazy. Anything can happen, and we have to just go out and focus.”
