Winner takes all as Republic of Ireland look to France
Article excerpt
Ireland's 3-2 victory over the Netherlands on Friday sets up a winner-take-all showdown with France for automatic World Cup qualification. The dramatic win keeps the Irish alive in what has become a high-stakes qualifying campaign, where a single match will determine who advances to the tournament. With both teams fighting for one of the limited automatic spots available, the France match represents the culmination of months of preparation and national hope. Ireland's ability to come from behind against the Dutch demonstrated the resilience that will be tested in the crucial fixture ahead.
Republic of Ireland are one game away from qualifying automatically for their second successive World Cup [Getty Images]
A winner takes all game for automatic World Cup qualification against France in Grenoble in Tuesday is a scenario Republic of Ireland could only have dreamed of at the start of their League A2 campaign.
Carla Ward's side were ranked as the bottom seeds of the group but have defied the odds to put themselves 90 minutes away from qualifying automatically for a second successive World Cup.
They went toe-to-toe with France and Netherlands in March and came out the wrong side of two narrow 2-1 defeats.
That increased the pressure in April and Ward's side responded, picking up two big wins over Poland which all but secured the seeded play-off spot they set out for at the start of the campaign and built momentum.
That snowballed into Friday's spirited 3-2 win over top seeds Netherlands which has put them one point behind Les Bleues and with a chance to book their place in Brazil without going down the play-off route with a victory.
Many outside the camp may not have believed they had a chance at automatic qualification after March's results, but striker Kyra Carusa, who scored the opener in Cork, said the squad always did.
"We always wanted to be in this position and control what we can control," she said.
"Even in this campaign after the first window coming out of it without the points we thought we should have gotten, we still thought we'd be in a good position if we controlled what we controlled and took it game by game."
Republic of Ireland defeat Netherlands to boost World Cup qualification hopes
Republic of Ireland 'excited to take it to France'
Carusa scored the opener for Republic of Ireland in their 3-2 win over Netherlands in Cork [Getty Images]
It's been a remarkable campaign and turnaround under Ward, who endured a tricky start to her reign with a 4-0 thrashing by Slovenia in her second game in charge leaving many questioning if she was the right person for the job.
She has answered those questions emphatically, having found a settled side as countless players have grown and established themselves as regular and consistent performers.
Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Chloe Mustaki have formed a solid defensive trio in a back three, Marissa Sheva has established herself as a first-choice in midfield while Carusa has started to deliver goals in big games.
All played their part in the rain in Cork, but it was the supporting cast that were the bigger story, with Ward able to develop some much-needed depth.
Regular starters Denise O'Sullivan and Emily Murphy were suspended but in Ruehsa Littlejohn and then Jess Ziu as well as Abbie Larkin and Amber Barrett, Ward was able to call upon able deputies who filled the gaps and contributed greatly to the victory.
Larkin and Barrett were on target alongside Carusa, the latter scoring a late winner as she did on the Republic of Ireland's route to the 2023 World Cup in that famous play-off win over Scotland.
Their resilience has been on show plenty in this campaign: from bouncing back from those two early losses to beat Poland back-to-back and then to respond to win late after Netherlands had twice pegged them back.
It will be needed again in abundance on Tuesday to create further history. If they draw or lose in Grenoble, not all is lost, but they will instead have to take the arduous play-off route.
The Irish will be, as they were against the Dutch, going out with no fear and will be keen to avenge March's painful late defeat at Tallaght.
"We're really excited for Tuesday to take it to them," Carusa added.
"We have so much momentum and I would always bet on us, I've always said that. We remember that last game against France we had earlier on in the year and we'll take that into Tuesday."
If they do take another huge scalp, there will be a scramble to get passports ready for a carnival of football fun in Brazil next year.