Katie McCabe's first half goal against Sweden looked set to give Ireland a shock win away to the #2 ranked side in the world, before a late equaliser for the Swedes sealed a 1-1 draw.
The result is nonetheless immensely impressive for the Irish side, and leaves them as the front runners for a play off spot for qualification for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
McCabe spoke to RTÉ after the game, and played down the excitement of the occasion by saying that the team would be focusing on the remaining three qualifiers against Georgia, Finland, and Slovakia.
Sweden 1-1 Ireland: Katie McCabe keeping calm despite brilliant result in Gothenburg
Ireland captain Katie McCabe has become one of the most impressive players in the WSL. She won both player of the month and goal of the month in October, and she has played a crucial role in Arsenal's ongoing title charge.
McCabe has regularly shone in the green of Ireland and, on Tuesday night, she did so once more. A lucky deflection gave her the opening goal in a crunch match for World Cup qualification.
Sweden 0-1 Ireland - Katie McCabe gives the visitors a shock lead against the World No. 2 side. Vera Pauw's side hit the front just before the break #rtesoccer #SWEIRL
📺 https://t.co/GnumBfJKRv
📻 https://t.co/FDy5KofWIx
📱https://t.co/wH5tqlaBqQ pic.twitter.com/f0LRQqlb1L— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) April 12, 2022
The deflection may have been the reason for the goal being scored, but McCabe didn't seem to mind, and it gave Ireland an unexpected lead against the second best team in the world. They would put in a titanic performance to seal a 1-1 draw.
After the game, McCabe spoke to RTÉ's Tony O'Donoghue. Despite taking one of the most famous points in Irish women's football history, McCabe was calm. She played down the gargantuan nature of the result, and said that the team needed to focus on the upcoming games.
It was a tough game, we knew it was going to be a battle. They're not second best in the world for no reason, but we went into the game fully concentrating on ourselves and what we had to do. A point away against Sweden - not a bad result.
It's another point on our way to qualifying for the World Cup. We've got three more massive games, so we're another step ahead. We continue on now and our focus will be on Georgia in June.
We've got Finland, Slovakia away, and then obviously a big game against Georgia away as well. Step by step - we're fully focused on the job at hand so hopefully we'll get there.
McCabe appears to be of the mentality that Ireland are on their way to the World Cup. They have certainly given themselves a fantastic shot, with the Girls in Green firmly in the mix for a play off place from Group A.
The result against Sweden leaves Ireland in third place in the group on eight points, two points behind Finland with a game in hand. Ireland also host Finland in September, a team that they brilliantly beat away from home earlier in the campaign.
27th of June is the next time we will see Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, away to Georgia. Katie McCabe and co have been in fantastic form for the past year, and they can firmly put themselves in contention for a trip down under with a win against the Georgians.
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