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The 42
a day ago
- Health
- The 42
'We've got to believe that we can beat anyone' - Ireland learn potential play-off opponents
IRELAND FACE INTO the Uefa Women's Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs after finishing second in Group B2. Carla Ward's side were chasing top spot, but didn't achieve the four-goal win needed to usurp Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening. They won 1-0 thanks to Saoirse Noonan's first-half goal. While Slovenia secured safe passage to League A, Ireland have another shot at promotion in the play-offs in October. Their opponents — a third-placed League A outfit — will be confirmed in a Friday's draw in Nyon [12pm Irish time]. One of Austria (18th in the world rankings), Iceland (13th), Belgium (20th) and Denmark (12th) will await in a two-legged tie. 'I think that whoever we get out of those, they're top nations,' said Ward. 'But, look, we're building, we're evolving. Advertisement 'I think you've seen from game one to game six now the improvement, gaming as we've continued, five wins from six. So, we've got to believe that we can go and beat anyone. 'Players that have played for me at club and country often laugh at me because I'm somebody that believes that we can do anything if we really want to. 'So, whoever we get is going to be difficult, but we'll be prepared. That's for sure.' Austria are the only side not competing at this summer's European Championships. Ireland (26th) are unseeded, so will play at home first in the two-legged play-offs. League A status would significantly boost their 2027 World Cup qualification hopes. The Girls In Green will be without Anna Patten for the first leg of the October play-off: the Aston Villa defender is suspended after receiving a second yellow card this evening. Several other players, including Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan, are one booking away from a ban. Ireland return to action later this month with a pair of friendlies away to world number one-ranked side USA. McCabe will not travel after a hectic season, which she finished as a Champions League winner with Arsenal. 'A number' of players could be unavailable, Ward confirmed. 'Katie has played an awful lot of minutes for club and country. She's on the verge of burnout, as are some others. There's going to be conversations. It won't just be Katie that won't be travelling. There's probably going to be a number. 'It's a difficult one. I mean, you've seen with Millie Bright at England coming out, mental and physical fatigue is massive. I felt it at Villa. It's the reason I needed that break. It's a really tough place to be, and I think there's a lot of players close to that. They've played a lot of minutes, so we have to protect them. 'We have to protect them as people, and we'll support anybody that needs that break.'
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Women's Nations League: Republic of Ireland beat Slovenia
The Republic of Ireland have signed off their Women's Nations League B campaign with a win over Slovenia. Saoirse Noonan scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with the visitors topping the group and securing automatic promotion to League A. Advertisement The Girls in Green will now face a promotion playoff against one of the third-placed teams in League A in October. The draw for those playoffs takes place on Friday.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
‘He can talk all he likes': Ireland boss Carla Ward won't be drawn on Slovenia manager's ‘tactical win' claims
Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward has batted away suggestions that she was outfoxed by Slovenia manager Saša Kolman when the two nations faced off earlier this year. Kolman trumpeted his 'tactical win' after beating the Girls in Green 4-0 in February. He claimed he didn't bother with a Plan B as he knew what Ireland would do, stating that they 'played into our hands'. The teams are prepared to meet again in a Nations League promotion decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork (Tuesday, 6pm). Ward hit back on Monday, saying: 'I'm going to concentrate on us and what we do. He can talk as much as he wants. It's not hard to look at a Carla Ward team over the last eight years and work out how I like to play the game. 'He can comment all he likes. It just shows that he's probably had a look at my career, which I can take a little bit of confidence from. My focus is on my team and how we set up.' READ MORE As a consequence of that heavy loss in Ward's second game at the helm, Ireland require a four-goal victory over Slovenia tonight to achieve automatic promotion to League A. Along with that, they would secure a guaranteed play-off spot for the 2027 World Cup. Should Ireland fall short, they will face a third-placed team from League A in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off in October. Italy, Portugal, Iceland and Austria are currently positioned as the likely opponents. Ireland enter with doubts surrounding the participation of Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion, who have both started all five games under Ward. Quinn has been struck down by an illness and looks less likely to feature. Mannion is suffering from a quad issue after a long season, but could play a part. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night — Katie McCabe Ireland have switched to a possession-based style under Ward. Despite that, both of their late goals in last Friday's victory against Turkey came from balls launched into the box. Ward wouldn't be drawn on whether she plans to mix things up for the visit of the group leaders. She said: 'I can't say, can I? I'm not going to tell you that. What I will say is we are preparing ourselves in the best possible way to go and get the job done. Head Coach Carla Ward says Ireland have prepared to 'get the job done' against Slovenia. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'There's so many different permutations, but we've whittled it down. We need to win by four clear goals, which sets it up for an exciting evening.' Responding to news that 10,000 tickets had been sold for the game at the home of Cork GAA, she said: 'I've heard an awful lot about the crowd here. I've heard an awful lot about the good times here. We'll be ready. 'We know what we have to do. We're going to have to be aggressive but also secure at the same time.' Ireland's latest recruit, Erin Healy , could be in line for a debut if the team is left chasing goals. Amid a confusing contract situation, Adelaide United had confirmed that the California native will remain with the club for the coming season. However, Ward believes she may yet relocate to Europe, as previously indicated. Hometown hero Saoirse Noonan previously played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Cork's Gaelic footballers, so she is in line for a unique achievement if called upon. Louise Quinn harbours hopes of an international swansong as she bids farewell to professional football. Katie McCabe recovered from the celebrations of Arsenal's Champions League triumph to collect the player-of-the-match award in last Friday's 2-1 victory in Turkey. Opposition midfielder Kaja Korošec described McCabe as an 'icon of women's football in the whole world' during her pre-match media duties. McCabe, who captains Ireland, said a big improvement is needed from the performance last Friday. Katie McCabe says Ireland must be better than they were in last Friday's victory against Turkey. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'If we don't score the first one, you can forget about the fourth,' she said. 'We just have to be fully concentrated on how we're setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible. 'For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch.' We know Ireland are still the favourites, the best team in the group — Saša Kolman In the opposition dugout, Kolman is targeting another statement win. After their last victory, he received a message of congratulations from Donegal manager McGuinness. The pair struck up a friendship when McGuinness worked at Celtic as a youth coach. 'We were talking after the game on WhatsApp,' Kolman revealed. 'He saw a headline from when I spoke to him at Celtic in 2013, that I thought I was going to 'conquer the world'. 'He said, 'Saša, you took it literally'. And I said, 'Well, you told me so!'' Kolman knows Ireland will provide a different challenge this time around. 'That game in Koper changed Ireland more than it changed us. For sure, they took something out of it. They look very good, very compact. 'We will play to win, but we know who we are playing against. The first game doesn't mean anything. We know Ireland are still the favourites, the best team in the group, so we need to show character again. 'To finish six from six, that would make a huge statement in Slovenia.'
The 42
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'Excitement, surrealness' - New Ireland call-up proud to represent late grandfather
THE PHONE CALL confirming Erin Healy's first Ireland call-up last week was a special one. It brought 'every emotion' for her and her family, the US-born attacker qualifying for the Girls In Green through her late grandfather, Hugh McGuire, originally from Clones, Co. Monaghan. 'It was an unreal experience, something I'd been working super hard for, something I'm super grateful for and it's exciting to be here,' says Healy on a Zoom call from Istanbul ahead of Friday's penultimate Nations League game against Türkiye. 'It was just an emotion of excitement, surrealness. Now I can just kind of play through my grandfather and make him proud. He passed away around eight years ago. I know he'd be excited for me.' Advertisement Her mother, Maureen — McGuire's daughter — is particularly proud. 'She wanted to try to get out for one of the games in this camp but it's not going to work out this time.' Healy's journey to this point has been interesting. The 42 mapped it last week: From La Mesa in San Diego to Adelaide United, where she caught Carla Ward's eye in the A-League Women's. The 24-year-old came close to quitting football after college, instead focusing on her career as an accountant, but gave it another shot in the Portuguese top-flight with Club de Albergaria before pushing herself further in Australia. 'I fell in love with (football) again, I found the fun in it. And I think I'm at my best when I'm having fun. The Portuguese League showed I had more potential so I wanted to go to another team and another league to see how well I did there to see whether I continue soccer or finish it. I'm happy to be still here and still playing and now I want to make a career out of it.' First day done for Erin Healy 🇮🇪💪 — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) May 26, 2025 Healy has attracted interest from the WSL and NWSL recently, but today pledged her future to Adelaide United for the 2025/26 season. The international dream now takes precedence: With a debut on the cards against Türkiye or Slovenia — in Páirc Uí Chaoimh next Tuesday — what can we expect from the new call-up? And what is she expecting? 'I like to be involved in a lot of the play and I like to be creative. I think I'm really inconsistent in the way I play, not inconsistent, but hard to read so I give a defender a lot to defend against. 'Just being able to play in different environments, and being able to perform in those environments, just shows that I can do well here as well. 'I just want to get my foot in the door and get comfortable. I'm ready to put my best foot forward and hopefully get some playing time. But you never know, whatever is needed from me.'
The 42
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Retiring Louise Quinn remains available for Ireland selection
LOUISE QUINN REMAINS available for Ireland selection this month despite recently announcing her retirement from football. The 121-cap defender confirmed her decision to hang up her boots in a statement two weeks ago, and played her last game for Birmingham City last weekend. But Ireland head coach Carla Ward has revealed that Quinn could again grace the international stage. The Girls In Green round out their Nations League campaign against Turkey and Slovenia on 30 May and 2 June, with Ward due to name her squad next Tuesday. 'She has made herself available until the summer,' Ward told RTÉ's Tony O'Donoghue. Advertisement 'When she called me, she called me to say, 'I'm going to retire from football, but in the summer', and I said, 'What does that look like then?'. And she said, 'I want to let you know I'm available. I'm available for camp'. I said, 'Okay, okay, that's good to know'. 'So we've had a few conversations. She's such a top pro. I've said it a lot. I think one thing we've lacked is leaders. I said that we need to create new leaders. Do I think Lou can play a part in helping those young players breed leadership? Absolutely, I do.' 'We've had a few conversations' - Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward tells @Corktod that we may not have seen the last of the retiring Louise Quinn in a green jersey Read more 👉 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 12, 2025 Defensive stalwart Quinn last featured for Ireland in a Euro 2025 qualifier win over France at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last July, later suffering a long-term hip injury. Heather Payne (Achilles) and Leanne Kiernan (quad) are unlikely to be available for the Nations League double-header, but Megan Connolly and Kyra Carusa are back in the mix, with a pair of friendlies against the USWNT also slated in for next month. Ireland remain second to Slovenia in their League B group, with the race for automatic promotion set to boil down to their Páirc Uí Chaoimh showdown next month. Elevation to League A remains a possibility for the runners-up, with play-offs scheduled for October. Assistant coach Amber Whiteley is also set to be involved for Turkey and Slovenia as the Liverpool interim manager waits to learn her fate: she wants the Reds job on a permanent basis, with an appointment due in the off season. Ward was speaking at a media event this morning. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO Meanwhile, Ward has weighed in on the camogie skorts controversy. The Englishwoman assumed it was a joke when she first heard about it, and is puzzled by the ongoing situation. 'It's absolutely ludicrous,' said Ward. 'I'll be honest, some of the (backroom) staff shared it a couple of weeks ago when it first happened, and I actually did say, 'Is this some sort of joke?' I think it's absolutely mental to be even having these conversations in 2025. 'It's an old mentality though isn't it? There's still some countries that have that old mentality towards women. It's crazy. I'll be honest with you, it did blow my mind because I didn't believe that anyone in this country could have that mindset that women had to wear a certain, or couldn't wear a certain short, or skort.'
