Gary Connaughton reporting from Senec, Slovakia
Heading into the last game of a qualification campaign, it's always nice to have something to play for.
For this Ireland team going into the game against Slovakia tomorrow, they are probably in a better position than they ever could have imagined. The win over Finland on Thursday evening ensured that they would be in the play-offs for the World Cup, an incredible achievement when you consider that they managed it with a game still to spare.
Of course, that isn't to say that there will be nothing to play for when the two teams take to the pitch at the National Training Centre in Senec tomorrow evening.
The convoluted system employed by UEFA for the play-offs means that seeding will be important, with the three best group runner-ups receiving a buy to the second round of the process.
Results elsewhere over the weekend mean that a win against the Slovaks would ensure Ireland a spot in that top three, potentially meaning one less game needed to reach the World Cup finals in Australia & New Zealand. As a result, this game will be just as important as the one against Finland.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Vera Pauw admitted that maintaining the standards set on Thursday night would be a challenge, although the team were more than up for it.
Of course, we've had a huge emotional explosion on Thursday.
The biggest thing is to get back on the ground and load your emotions up to another fight. Because there is no game won without a fight. That is the biggest task, but we don't do it with stress. We do it more concentrating on the tasks the moment we work and relax out of that situation, and do the things that we have to do very well...
We don't underestimate Slovakia. This is a very, very good footballing team. They had a good sense of positional play, they have the skills to execute that in a small space. If you can say there's a lot of street footballers in it, very mobile and know exactly what they do on that pitch.
It is a very dangerous squad, they drew against Finland, against us, only small losses against Sweden, so we are fully prepared tomorrow.
5 September 2022; Manager Vera Pauw and Louise Quinn during a Republic of Ireland Women press conference at National Training Centre in Senec, Slovakia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
While the intensity in Ireland's play required tomorrow will be the same as against the Finns, it will have to be done in a very different atmosphere against a team who they stuttered to a 1-1 draw against earlier in the campaign.
Whereas a record crowd of 6,952 spectators made their way to Tallaght Stadium for that game, it is expected that there will be a rather more modest crowd in the modest settings of Senec, 30 kilometres outside the capital of Bratislava.
Ireland certainly fed off the atmosphere in their last fixture, although it was slightly disappointing that there wasn't a larger crowd at the game. Tickets were sold out, with many who were looking to go to the fixture unable to get their hands on some. Despite this, there were some empty seats on display.
Vera Pauw was thrilled with the atmosphere, but she did ask those who purchase tickets to make sure they are used in the future.
There were a series of empty seats. They have bought tickets and didn’t show up and that is a real shame. Because there were thousands of girls who wanted to come...
The thing is what do you do? Our marketing department is dealing with it.
We want it to be accessible for everybody. You could make the tickets more expensive but then you put pressure on people who may not have much. You want everyone to be able to attend.
My honest feeling is that it comes down to the decency of people who buy the tickets. They know there are thousands of girls crying at home, literally crying at home because they could not go to the stadium. And they should take responsibility when you buy a ticket.
1 September 2022; Katie McCabe with supporters after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Finland at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Ireland will be hoping to be handed a home tie when the play-off draw is made later this week, where you would expect another sell-out as the team play for a potential place in the World Cup.
This is the closest that Ireland have ever come to reaching the showpiece event in women's football, but the team is far from satisfied to merely making it this far.
As Vera Pauw put it, the play-offs are merely part of the journey and not the final destination.
I don't know how it was but for this group - even in the European campaign - the play-offs wouldn't be enough, it was just a step in between.
There is everything to play for tomorrow as if we can get to the best three second placed teams that would give us a huge advantage in our play-off position. Of course you can draw one of the top seeds also and there is only one game to prepare for and win.
There is nothing in us that makes this game less important. It is fantastic that we have reached the play-offs but I hope it is coming out that we make a huge step in our play. I hope that comes out tomorrow.
A win in Slovakia would be the latest stepping stone to achieving that ultimate goal.
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