2023 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF FINAL
Scotland v Republic of Ireland, Hampden Park, Tuesday, 8pm.
TV
Live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.45pm.
RADIO
Live commentary on RTÉ2fm, with coverage starting on Game On from 6pm.
ONLINE
Live tracker on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Updates and match footage on RTÉ Soccer Twitter and RTÉ Sport Facebook.
WEATHER
A cloudy but dry evening in forecast for Glasgow on Tuesday. A mild enough night is in store with temperatures or 12c with gentle breezes. A good evening for a game of football.
DESTINY AND CALCULATORS BECKON FOR VERA PAUW'S SIDE
Arguably the biggest night in the history of the Irish women’s teams awaits. Everything that the Ireland manager has achieved since taking charge of the team in 2019 has been building to this point.
A win over Scotland in Hampden could secure their place at the World Cup. Of course when it comes to Ireland things are never that simple or straightforward.
Ireland currently know that a win is a must but they are not certain of what prize victory will bring - they should at least know that come kick-off.
There are two other qualification play-offs that get underway at 6pm with Portugal hosting Iceland and Switzerland welcoming Wales.
There are two automatic World Cup places to go around between the winners of the three-play-offs with the third team going to a ten-team inter-confederations tournament in New Zealand this February.
The two highest-ranked teams that win their play-off will automatically progress to the World Cup and Ireland currently sit in third place with Switzerland and Iceland above them. Put simply Ireland need to beat the Scots and hope that either Iceland or the Swiss are defeated.
But even then, there’s a caveat. Given the nature of the standings, with Switzerland on 19 points, Iceland on 18 and Ireland of 17, things are still subject to change. A win in the play-offs in normal or extra-time is worth three points and a win on penalties is worth a point so Ireland could conceivably still leapfrog either of the other two sides with a victory and their rivals being taken to penalties.
All of which is of course moot if Ireland don’t beat Scotland.
INJURY PROBLEMS CONTINUE FOR IRELAND
Ireland already had significant injury issues when the squad was originally announced.
Leanne Kiernan, Megan Connolly, Ruesha Littlejohn, Ellen Molloy, Aoife Colvill and Savannah McCarthy were all absent through injury when Pauw’s squad was named.
There was a further blow for the Ireland manager with the news that midfielder Jess Ziu suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during West Ham’s League Cup game against London City Lionesses on 2 October.
A scan revealed that Zui has suffered an ACL rupture and she’s due to see a specialist which should give a clearer view of the damage done and the recovery timeline.
Ziu’s absence will be keenly felt, along with that of Kiernan, Connolly and Littejohn, and Pauw will once again have to shuffle her deck.
Despite the injuries the Ireland manager remains convinced that her squad is strong enough to go to Glasgow and get the result they need.
"We believe in ourselves and trust in each other - players and staff - but we know that we have to be at our very best if we are to win this game," she said.
"Making it to the World Cup has always been the dream. The target when we started this campaign was to qualify for the World Cup and we remain in a position to achieve that.
"We expected Sweden to top our group, so we knew that going through the route of the play-offs was a possibility and therefore is not daunting to us. It is another massive challenge and we must play the game of our lives to win it.
"We have full respect for Scotland, who are a very direct team with a lot of excellent players and they fully deserved to beat Austria in the first round of this play-off series.
"We have watched them closely and know that we will be facing a very difficult opponent, who will also have a home crowd behind them."
SEASONED SCOTS EAGER TO END IRISH DREAM
This is Scotland’s second high-pressure game in the space of five days.
Unlike Ireland, who automatically progressed to the play-off final, Scotland had to navigate a semi-final clash with Austria at Hampden Park on Friday.
A record crowd of 10,182 was in situ to witness substitute Abi Harrison set up a World Cup decider against Ireland with an extra-time winner against Austria.
Bristol City forward Harrison headed home Erin Cuthbert’s corner from six yards in the 92nd minute of the first round play-off at Hampden and Scotland held on for a 1-0 victory to secure their place in the final against Ireland
Another record crowd is expected at Hampden for the clash with Pauw’s team as the Scots look to secure their place at a second successive World Cup, having qualified in 2019.
Spanish manager Pedro Martinez Losa has a clean bill of health following that victory over Austria and despite the tight turnaround, expects his team to be at their very best.
"We are in the best place that we could be," he said. "We really have a belief in what we are doing. It's one opportunity potentially every four years.
"We just prepare for a final. We prepared for one final and how we are preparing for another final.
"It's an incredible opportunity to be involved and play in a World Cup and inspire a generation of players and make the game better.
"The result from the last match has given us faith and energy and motivation that we already had, but more belief and so we are ready to go. Every individual is competing for a position."
Watch Scotland v Republic of Ireland live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player on Tuesday from 7pm, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on RTÉ 2fm's Game On.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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