How Ireland Women Qualified for the World Cup
Lauren McCann
The Republic of Ireland Women created history last week as they qualified for their first ever major tournament by beating Scotland 1-0 in a dramatic World Cup play off at Hampden Park.
The Republic of Ireland will play at their first ever major tournament at next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Donegal native and super sub Amber Barrett scored the goal which booked Ireland’s place at next year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, coolly poking home after latching onto Denise O’Sullivan’s inch perfect through ball.
It came after Courtney Brosnan had saved Caroline Weir’s tame penalty in the first half and some resolute defending from Vera Pauw’s side, who frustrated the hosts before ruthlessly taking their chance when it was presented to them.
Barrett dedicated the win to those who tragically lost their lives in the Cresslough explosion, and their performance on the pitch was fitting tribute to those who died. Their actions off it after the final whistle left a lot to be desired and has obviously warranted intense criticism and taken a shine off the qualification, but it shouldn’t take away from the magnitude of this achievement.
This is a seismic feat which, like Northern Ireland Women qualifying for the Euros, will inspire a whole new generation of females to follow the national team and take up the sport. Playing on the biggest stage should also help propel these player’s careers to new heights.
It has been a long time coming for the ‘Girls in Green’, who narrowly missed out on qualification for this summer’s European Championships. They finished third in Group I, two points off Ukraine, who Northern Ireland would eventually beat in a playoff to seal their place at their first major tournament.
Despite the disappointment of watching their near neighbours alongside England play in the tournament they dusted themselves down and got to work again. The expansion of next year’s tournament to 32 teams presented them with their best opportunity yet to qualify for a major tournament, and they were determined to seize it in a group which they knew they had the chance of finishing as runners up in and sealing a playoff place.
The association also showed their faith in the manager, who they appointed in 2019, offering her a two-year contract extension to lead the team through the qualification process for next year’s World Cup and the tournament itself which kicks off in July.
Pauw agreed to stay on as she was confident in the squad at her disposal, stating in upon putting pen to paper on the new deal last year, “We made huge strides in our last campaign and there is no reason why we cannot build on that with the core of players that we currently have and more young players coming through.”
Her prophecy came true as she was able to get the best out of Ireland’s core established quality players playing at a high level such as Niamh Fahey, Courtney Brosnan, Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan with the likes of Lily Agg, Chloe Mustaki, Leanne Kiernan, Heather Payne and of course Barrett coming in and making an impact.
Pauw ensured Ireland were hard to break down and clinical when mattered, exemplified by the play-off win against Scotland. In their nine qualifying games they lost just once, conceding only four goals and scoring twenty-seven in the process.
Qualification is obviously huge for all the squad, but it will mean a lot to the veterans of the squad like Fahey and also Aine Gorman, with both having amassed over 100 caps for their country since their debuts in 2006 and 2007 respectively. This is the reward they deserve after going through many ups and downs in the last fifteen years.
The expansion of the World Cup to 32 teams gives Ireland the chance of being competitive at the tournament depending on their group.
The qualification caps a remarkable five year turn around for the national team, which was in disarray in 2017 when the squad threatened to boycott a game against Slovakia with players aghast at being treated as “fifth class citizens” as they were shockingly forced to share tracksuits with underage teams and change in airport toilets.
The FAI addressed their grievances and the players have since flourished, showing the benefits of when players, staff and the association are aligned with one clear vision.
October 11th, 2022 will now go down as one of the great nights of Irish football, which fans of the men’s national team have been short of in recent years.
The whole country will undoubtedly come out in numbers to show their support for the women’s side’s great adventure down under, after all the men’s team’s last appearance at a major tournament was way back at Euro 2016, Ireland fans are well overdue something to cheer about.
The draw for who Ireland will face in the expanded 32 team competition takes place next Saturday and they will be placed in Pot Three, meaning they could clash with European Championship winners England.
They are one of five debutants at the tournament, so will fancy themselves against the Pot Four team in their group and pushing the higher seeds in the group close. Qualifying is a great achievement, but they will not simply be there to make up the numbers.
The countdown for the momentous occasion is well and truly on, just 274 days for excitement to reach fever pitch.
Lauren McCann is the Scoop’s Sport Editor and an English and Spanish student at Queen’s University Belfast.