Ireland's World Cup bow finally arrived on Thursday, after months of anticipation.
Last October's historic play-off win against Scotland in Glasgow had us dreaming of July 20th and the opener against Australia, and the big day is finally upon us.
Much of the talk in the buildup centred around how difficult the group stage assignment would be for Vera Pauw's Irish side. Up against the well-fancied hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada, and African powerhouses Nigeria, the World Cup debutants had their work cut out for them from the moment the draw was made.
The opening game against hosts Australia was just about as tough an assignment as Ireland could have expected, with the game moved to the 80,000+ capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney to handle the huge demand for tickets.
With an enormous Irish diaspora Down Under, however, it was clear that there would be a sizeable support for the Girls in Green in the giant Sydney stadium, and the moment when Ireland walked out onto the pitch was a powerful one which clearly emotionally resonated with several of the starting eleven.
READ HERE: Ranking Every Nation's Home Kit At The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Ireland v Australia: Powerful Irish presence for opening World Cup game
The scenes on the streets of Sydney this week showed that, even up against the hosts, Ireland's fans would make their presence felt for their opening game of the World Cup.
By the time Katie McCabe led the Ireland team out onto the pitch on Thursday evening (morning Ireland time), the amount of Irish fans in the stadium was abundantly clear.
An emotional Amhrán na bhFiann was the curtain raiser to the match, with the Irish fans in full voice despite some apparent technical hitches.
Goosebumps
🇦🇺 v 🇮🇪#coygig #fwc2023
📺Watch https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE
📻Listen https://t.co/QHSJNYlfx8
📱Updates https://t.co/YLBQxszzTF pic.twitter.com/GQvBpBQH5Z— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 20, 2023
Of note was the fact that even those in the Irish team who had qualified to play for the team through parents or grandparents were in full voice. Every player on the team could be heard singing along, with Glasgow native Ruesha Littlejohn the loudest of the bunch.
Even better was the noise from the crowd as kick-off arrived.
Despite this also being an historic occasion for the Aussie hosts, who hosted a major football tournament for the first time, the noise coming from the stands was clearly that of the Irish fans chanting "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé."
Ole ole echoing around Stadium Australia as the game kicks off @RTEsport @rtenews pic.twitter.com/068OypBc9W
— Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) July 20, 2023
Even on the other side of the world, Ireland's fans proved that they are undoubtedly the best in the world for the World Cup bow of the women's team.
SEE ALSO: Katie McCabe Reveals Séamus Coleman's Key Role In Push For Equal Pay
