Ireland take on France in Tallaght Stadium in World Cup campaign

The Irish Women’s National team begin their World Cup qualifying campaign as they come up against two of the best teams in the world next week in France and the Netherlands.

The girls in green will come up against France in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday March 3rd with a 7:30pm kick off before travelling to Utrecht to take on Netherlands for a 7:45pm kick off on March 7th.

Ireland reached the high profile fixtures following a dramatic paly off victory over Belgium which saw a stoppage time goal from former Shamrock Rovers player Abbie Larkin secure a famous victory and promotion to the top tier of qualification.

Manager Carla Ward has named her squad for the upcoming fixtures with Kilnamanagh native Katie McCabe of course featuring along with Ballyfermot native and former Cherry Orchard player Jessie Stapleton also being called into the team.

Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, midfielder Megan Connolly and forward Leanne Kirwan all return to the side after missing the games against Belgium through injury.

Ward gave her thoughts on the upcoming fixtures in an interview and how much the team has improved since the 4-0 loss to Slovenia last year.

“First and foremost, let’s be really honest. We are the underdogs in that group and we know it. It’s something that we’ll relish and thrive on.

‘The opposition are two of the best teams in the world and Poland are a very good side.

‘They deserve to be where they are so we know what we are up against. What we will do is enjoy testing ourselves against the very best.”

“I think that [loss to Slovenia] was one of the best things that could have happened to us.

‘I think that made us dive deep into what we really needed to do. We needed to recognise that we needed a few more leaders rather than just Katie McCabe, Courtney Brosnan and Denise O’Sullivan driving the team.

‘Also in recognising what the team was good at and what our strengths are.

“ The Irish pride themselves on defending and I love to play with the ball. It was really understanding and developing the idea of ‘can we be a Carla Ward team with the ball but an Ireland team off the ball.

‘We’ve still got work to do but we’ve started to develop that. The environment and how everyone looks after one another is number one in my book.”

The squad is once again led by captain Katie McCabe and features experienced midfielder Denise O’Sullivan, who recently secured a move to Liverpool FC, and who will be crucial for the tough tests ahead in this campaign.