Carla Ward confirms major Katie McCabe decision after Champions League celebrations ahead of Ireland clash vs Turkey
But so is the Plan B of
record
holder Megan Campbell.
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2
Katie McCabe joined Ireland camp late after the Champions League final
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
2
Carla Ward confirmed she will play against Turkey
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The Girls in Green are in Istanbul today to face
Cork
on Tuesday.
And the side is at full strength as skipper
Ward told RTÉ: 'Katie's a pro. You never want anyone to not celebrate such a massive, massive win and important moment in her career.
'It was about her enjoying those celebrations but she's a professional, she's fit, she's ready . . . maybe a question mark on her calf at the moment.
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'But she's said to me straight away, 'I'm ready, I want to play', so of course she's available for selection.
'Katie's Katie, you know what you're going to get. She's wholehearted, she gives you everything.'
McCabe will start at left-back against a
Turkey
team who
Ireland
beat 1-0 in Tallaght last February in Ward's first game in charge.
Ward has been keen to change Ireland's style from a dogged defensive side to a more creative force.
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But she stressed that the team cannot lose what they were good at doing while adding more strings to their bow.
And Ward highlighted the threat of Campbell from long throws.
Arsenal star Katie McCabe leads anti-Tottenham chants and has 'Jack Wilshere moment' in Champions League parade
Campbell, who was this month released by
London
City Lionesses, recently set a
Ward said: 'We know that if we need goals we've got a Guinness world record holder and also Louise Quinn that we can turn to.
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'We've got different qualities for different situations for sure.'
'That first game against Turkey, we've looked at it and whilst we had a lot of the ball, we didn't do enough with it. Since then we have. We've increased a lot of the numbers we wanted to. The team is starting to grow.'
But this evening's game will be difficult in the Istanbul heat as Ireland go for the victory they need to secure at least a top-two spot in the Nations League.
Top spot looks tricky as Slovenia are currently three points clear and face bottom side
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PLAY-OFF PERMUTATIONS
Should Slovenia win that, their 4-0 triumph over Ireland in February will mean Ward's side will need to win 5-0 in Cork on Tuesday to match their points total and beat them on the head-to-head rule.
And that is crucial as winning the group not only earns automatic promotion to League A ahead of the 2027
qualifiers
, but a guaranteed play-off for the World Cup.
If Ireland
remain
in League B for the qualifiers, they would need to finish in the top three just to secure that same play-off that League A teams are guaranteed in advance.
But second place in this Nations League means another play-off in October and chance to make League A. Ward stressed that talk of a shootout with Slovenia is off the agenda for now as Ireland must beat Turkey first.
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She added: 'Turkey are a good side and they know if they beat us and beat Greece they can finish second.
'Let's be really clear, this is a must-win game. We have to go and get three points.
'We have to make sure we're switched on, we're focused and we get the job done.'
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