2023 Women’s World Cup Group B: Australia v Republic of Ireland (Thursday, Stadium Australia, 11am – live on RTE2 & ITV)
AFTER weeks of speculation and scrutiny that cast a shadow over the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup preparations, it was all smiles for Vera Pauw and her girls in green as they familiarised themselves with Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Wednesday.
Between the allegations that resurfaced about Pauw’s conduct during her days at Houston Dash, and the concern for playmaker Denise O’Sullivan as she exited a swiftly curtailed warm-up game against Columbia on a stretcher, the build-up to a sporting dream has been anything but smooth sailing.
Finally, though, it is football that will do the talking.
On Thursday evening Down Under – 11am Irish time – the Republic of Ireland players will stride out before almost 70,000 screaming supporters at a sold out stadium, the hopes of a nation and a new generation of fans on the other side of the world resting firmly on their shoulders.
The task facing them could hardly be more great.
First up are co-hosts Australia, bidding to tap into and embrace the fervour that has followed them. All the pressure lies with the Matildas to get the show on the road.
After that it will be Canada, ranked seventh in the world and veterans of this stage, next Wednesday, before Nigeria lie in wait on July 31.
Unlike the ‘one for every member of the audience’ approach in the men’s equivalent, only the top two countries from each of the four groups advance to the last 16. Both the Republic and Nigeria will be delighted to still be in the mix by the time they run out in Brisbane.
Daunting? Maybe, but this is where they want to be and something that, just six years ago, would have been unimaginable.
It was in April 2017 that the Republic of Ireland women’s team threatened to pull out of a friendly with Slovakia over inadequate support, frustration fuelled by everything from playing for free to getting changed in public toilets on the way to matches.
STARTING XI | Australia v Ireland
— Ireland Football ⚽️ (@IrelandFootball) July 20, 2023
Our line-up for our biggest game yet…
Katie McCabe captains us in our first @FIFAWWC game #COYGIG | #OUTBELIEVE pic.twitter.com/UrJkQDzj1C
Both on the field and off it, much has been achieved since.
The hurt from missing out on last summer’s Euros was stored up and used when it mattered most, Amber Barrett’s play-off winner in Scotland now part of the showreel from some of Ireland’s biggest sporting days.
That was last October, the months between whizzing by as Ireland’s date with destiny loomed. Now, in the blink of an eye, it has arrived – and, on the eve of the tournament opener, the business of football is suddenly the only thing that matters.
- The Republic of Ireland's Group B opponents - When they play, where you can watch it and what to expect
O’Sullivan has been given the all clear to start after that shin injury scare last Friday, while memories are still fresh for those who featured last time the Republic and Australia faced off in a September 2021 friendly – Pauw’s side winning 3-2, O’Sullivan among the scorers.
That will count for little on Thursday and while Ireland have been attempting to adjust to their new environment, Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson ramped up the mind games at Wednesday’s press conference - insisting he has identified critical weaknesses in Australia’s opponents.
"We've had time to think what this game will look like,” he said.
“If you look at Ireland’s games lately against top teams, there’s no coincidence that have been really, really strong at the beginning of both the first and second halves. But also it's no coincidence that they’ve conceded goals late in each half - especially when it comes to tactics and behaviours of one or two players that we’ve identified.
"We hope to strike against those tomorrow. I’m not going to say what but there’s a clear trend there we’ll target.”
Gustavsson’s words were strategically chosen, a last-ditch attempt to create doubt and instability as the biggest game of their lives looms. For Ireland and Pauw, however, the time for talking has long passed.
