The Republic of Ireland have never qualified for a major women's tournament, but given their form in 2019 World Cup qualification to date, that could be about to change.
Colin Bell’s team have picked up seven points from their three matches so far, all away from home.
They began the campaign with a 2-0 derby win against Northern Ireland in September before winning 2-0 in Slovakia.
The result of the competition so far came in the form of a 0-0 draw away to European Champions Netherlands in November.
Positive results in home matches this week against Slovakia tomorrow and Netherlands next Tuesday would give them a great chance of making the play-offs at least, with three group games to play.
The seven group winners qualify automatically with the four best second placed making the play-offs.
The Women’s World Cup began in 1991, a competition Ireland have never played in, but France next summer is a realistic aim for this team under their excellent new head coach Colin Bell.
Magic Manager
Bell has impressed since taking charge in February last year and had to navigate his way through the now infamous ‘tracksuit gate’ in his first few months in charge.
He won the Women’s Champions League with FFC Frankfurt in 2015 and has brought the professionalism from that level to our national team, as well as working with the Women’s U17s.
His team have won six of their 12 games since he took charge, drawing three and losing three. They’ve scored 11 goals and conceded just five.
That is no coincidence.
He said in his first interview after taking over from Sue Ronan that he wanted to build a solid defence in the lead in to these qualifiers and he has done just that, with a lot of painstaking work on the training pitch.
He could be the first manager to lead the Ireland women’s team to the pinnacle of their sport.
Strong Foundations and Key Players
Manchester City goalkeeper Marie Hourihan has kept three clean sheets in the qualifiers so far, having taken over from long term number 1 Emma Byrne following her retirement.
Arsenal’s Louise Quinn has been another top performer alongside Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey, Sophie Perry and co.
Ireland will miss long-throw expert Megan Campbell, who suffered a serious knee injury earlier in the campaign. Her Rory Delap-like arrows had been one of Ireland’s major assets and it will be missed.
Captain Katie McCabe (above), who also plays for Arsenal, is Ireland’s shining light and needs to remain fit and is joined in the attacking ranks by the impressive Denise O’Sullivan
If Ireland can continue to keep clean sheets, and with the attacking options available, they have a great chance in this campaign, as they have shown so far.
Home Support
The FAI have been making a major push this week to ensure big crowds help roar on the girls in Tallaght Stadium.
The atmosphere at the home matches for Ireland has been electric in recent seasons and that will continue on Friday, with over 2,500 expected at each game.
If Ireland win tomorrow, that crowd will grow even more for Tuesday’s game against the Dutch.
Away from the support in the stands, Ireland need to make home advantage count on the pitch in these two games, before home and away games against Norway in June followed by what could be a huge home match against Northern Ireland on the final day.
Hopefully the players will use the anticipation and hype around these games to their benefit, they’ll never have played in more important football matches for their country than the ones they’ll play this week and before the end of the year.
Their two wins and one draw so far is only a start, and it’s crucial that they carry that momentum into these home games against two very good teams, who will also believe they have what it takes to win maximum points and boost their hopes of qualifying for the finals.
Dream
Louise Quinn said this week that it’s her "ultimate dream" to qualify for a World Cup and of course she is speaking for all of the players.
Although not jumping to conclusions, she knows her team have given themselves a fighting chance of making that dream a reality with the start they’ve made.
More points on the board in two huge games in Tallaght this week and that dream will be one step closer.
Come On You Girls In Green!!
