IN FOOTBALL IT takes one set of dreamers to allow the next generation dream a little less. 

Thus it is for Katie McCabe and her Irish team-mates, who are aiming to take a transformative step to a first major tournament in the national team’s history.

A draw today against Ukraine will seal a play-off spot for the delayed European Championships in 2021, while an Irish win would keep alive their hopes of qualifying automatically ahead of the closing game against Germany. 

“I don’t think we have touched on it too much, we haven’t played the game yet”, said McCabe when asked if she had thought of the impact qualification would make on women’s football in Ireland. 

For sure it will be spoken about if we win. I’ve got a little sister who is 12, turning 13, and all she wants to do is become a professional footballer. At the forefront of the Irish women’s football, we can give her that hope she can achieve her dreams someday. 

“And that’s who we are doing it for. Not just for my little sister but for all the young girls looking up to us. For me, I was looking up at Emma Byrne, Yvonne Treacy, Ciara Grant, playing in FA Cup finals for Arsenal at Wembley. For those girls to be looking up to us is obviously fantastic.” 

Today’s result would also provide a more immediate fillip to a drained, locked-down country. “We want to boost the nation’s morale”, says McCabe. 

A repeat of the 3-2 win over Ukraine at Tallaght a year ago would do the trick. That was Ireland’s first game under Dutch coach Vera Pauw, and results have been good: they conceded late in a draw against Greece before beating them at home, then swatted Montenegro aside before being outclassed away to Germany last month, though that is leavened with the faint praise that Ireland are the only side to keep the Germans to fewer than five goals so far.

Ukraine are the group’s second seeds, so it would be somewhat of an upset if Ireland take the runners-up spot from them. 

“She has instilled a belief that we are good enough to compete at this level and challenge for qualification to major tournaments and even go further from there. There has always been that element of ‘we won’t qualify, we haven’t qualified here, we’ve never done it’, but she has been part of teams at major tournaments and she has taken that in and we’re learning every camp and every day. Instilling that belief in us is the main one.” 

McCabe and her team-mates have also benefitted from their higher standing at the FAI, with the infamous strike action at Liberty Hall three years ago bringing about substantive change. They have not yet secured equal pay, but are at least benefitting from some of the treatment afforded the men’s team, including a chartered flight from their training base in Germany to Kiev. 

“It’s progress. Given the circumstances it was a no-brainer. We needed to be within our bubble to play with a full-strength squad on Friday”, says McCabe, and the squad have returned a slate of negative Covid tests at their training base. 

Filip Filipovic / INPHO Filip Filipovic / INPHO / INPHO

Ukraine, by contrast, are without goalkeeper Kateryna Samson after she tested positive for Covid.

McCabe arrives into this game in good form, and scored a free-kick in the North London Derby to leave Arsenal top of the WSL with five wins from five. She has international support at Arsenal, too, with her S&C coach, Eoin Clarkin, now performing the same role for Jim Crawford’s U21 men’s team. 

This will be her 23rd-straight game with the armband and McCabe hasn’t missed an international game since succeeding Emma Byrne as captain under Colin Bell. There are leaders throughout the Irish squad, however, with Aine O’Gorman (Peamount), Niamh Fahy (Liverpool), Harriett Scott (Birmingham), Diane Caldwell (SS Sand, Germany) all captains of their respective clubs. 

“I know I can also lean on those leaders”, says McCabe, “and they’ve helped to mould me into the captain I am.”

Ukraine were 4-0 winners over Greece last month, and can actually overtake Ireland if they win their remaining games. 

“We’ve a game plan for Ukraine. We’ve to implement it and stick to it. By sticking to it, we need to be unified. Against Germany we were 3-0 down at half-time. We looked at what we were doing and how they were cutting us open. We put it right and made sure we didn’t concede any more. In that short space of time, we showed quality and togetherness, and showed we can implement those issues that Vera is trying to fix. Going into Ukraine game, we’re looking at their weaknesses and strengths and how we can manage that as well.” 

A massive opportunity beckons. 

On TV: RTE Two; KO: 5pm