Ireland are preparing to take on England in what might be their most high profile match yet.
This will mark the second of Ireland’s Euro Qualifiers after a 1-0 defeat to France on Saturday.
With the Girls in Green set to take on the Lionesses on Tuesday, all eyes will be on the Aviva Stadium. This will be the second game the Ireland WNT has ever played at the stadium and given their opposition, it is safe to say that the stakes are high.
On the opposing end, leading the English team is Arsenal player Leah Williamson.
The England captain will return to the pitch after spending a year on the sidelines due to an ACL injury, making her comeback that much more special. Despite this setback, Williamson maintains a positive outlook.
“Everything happened for a reason, this was the path I was meant to be on", said Williamson to the English and Irish media on Monday.
Outside of international football, Williamson shares the pitch with Irish captain Katie McCabe at Arsenal, making this game even more intriguing given the club's recent League Cup Final win.
On her familiarity with McCabe Williamson said:
“I think Katie, she is a big personality. She’s always been someone who is proud of where she comes from, I think a lot of people connect to her that way. She knows her strengths and she knows they can be game changing as well.”
— Katie McCabe (@Katie_McCabe11) April 1, 2024
England coach, Sarina Wiegman has also received an increased amount of attention after the Lionesses almost ascended to World Cup glory, losing out to Spain in August 2023.
The Dutch-born manager expressed that Ireland should not be underestimated. “Yeah of course they’ve been promoted to this group and I think don’t ever underestimate anyone and especially not Ireland. They had a one result against France, I think that was really good.”
Wiegman added:
“They’re a physical team, they’re very well organised, and also they can play counterattack and of course they’re going to try and take that opportunity and moments that they probably will jump and press out. So we have to be aware of that and we are definitely going to think that it’s going to be hard to break down their defence.”
On Friday, England tied Sweden 1-1 in their first Euro qualifier match thanks to a goal by Arsenal player Alessia Russo. Indeed, England remains a formidable opponent having won the last Euro competition in 2022 where Russo became a standout player.
But it is not just Russo that Ireland will have to corral, but a host of other well known footballers such as Chelsea’s Lauren James and renowned goalkeeper Mary Earps.
This being said, Ireland comprises the largest expatriate group of players in the English Women’s Super League, the top tier of English women’s football. This means that many of the Girls in Green have played at the same calibre as England thus producing a host of talent.
England goalie training at the Aviva ⚽️🏴🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/Y5yIhnZc4B
— Gina Bagnulo (@GinaBagnulo3) April 8, 2024
As England trained under a rainy sky at the Aviva Stadium on Monday, it was clear that Ireland have worked hard to be faced with this qualifier group and will not go down without a fight.
