Republic of Ireland learn Nations League opponents following Tuesday’s Draw

The Republic of Ireland’s draw for the upcoming nations league games has been revealed on Tuesday afternoon. 

Carla Ward’s team were landed into an elite four team group that showcases the continued progression of  the women’s national team. The group consists of Spain, Norway and Switzerland. 

The campaign is set to kick off in February of next year with the full fixture scheduled to be confirmed by Uefa later on in the month.  

The headline clash against Spain marks the first meeting between the two sides in over a decade with their last encounter coming back in April of 2016. That ended in a 3-0 Spanish victory.  

Local players such as Kilnamanagh’s Katie McCabe and Ballyfermot’s Jessie Stapleton have become staples of the women’s international team and the squad will enter the upcoming campaign eager to carry forward the momentum and belief built up over the last year or so after positive results against the Netherlands as well as two narrow losses to France.  

Ireland coach Carla Ward reflected on the draw.  

“Who doesn’t want to play against the world champions? From the moment I took this job ive said time and time again that we want to test ourselves against the very best and this is our opportunity. Spain are the best team in the world right now, their quality is exceptional and nobody really comes close to them.  

We know the challenge ahead. It’s going to be a game where we have to be extraordinarily disciplined, stay compact and frustrate them. We’ve shown against sides like france and the Netherlands that we have resilience in our DNA and that has to be the exact mindset we bring to the pitch.” 

While the nations league draw means big things for 2027, focus will have to remain on the present and their immediate priority which is a monumental two legged world cup play off against Poland next month. 

The girls in green first travel to Gdansk for the first leg on the first of December before returning to Dublin the following Saturday for the second leg with a 5pm kick off..  

A massive home crowd will be vital to getting the team over the line.