Tuesday, 31 October
UEFA WOMEN'S NATIONS LEAGUE
Albania v Republic of Ireland, Loro Boriçi Stadium, 5pm Irish time
TV
Watch live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 4.50pm.
RADIO
Listen to live radio commentary on RTÉ 2fm's Game On from 4.55pm.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app.
WEATHER
Albania host Ireland in the northern city of Shkoder, where heavy showers are expected on Tuesday afternoon.
The game will kick off at 6pm local time, when the temperature is expected to be around 17 degrees.
Ireland can seal promotion on Tuesday
After winning all three of their opening Women's Nations League group games, Ireland are on the brink of promotion from League B to League A.
A second win over Albania in five days, coupled with a draw between Northern Ireland and Hungary, would seal Ireland's path to League A with two games to spare.
With Eileen Gleeson in interim charge of the team, Ireland have swept all before them. A September double-header saw the Girls in Green beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in a historic first appearance at the Aviva stadium for the women's side, before overcoming Hungary 4-0 in Budapest.
The October schedule threw up back-to-back meetings with Albania, and Ireland won the first of those games convincingly at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening, with Katie McCabe hitting a hat-trick, and Kyra Carusa a brace, in a 5-1 victory.
While Gleeson has distanced herself from any permanent managerial role, the more wins she clocks up, the greater the calls will be for her to be offered the job.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport, former Ireland manager Sue Ronan said that she would be surprised if Gleeson truly didn't want it.
"Eileen has been a coach all her life," said Ronan. "And I know from speaking to her in the past, she would definitely have had ambitions to coach the team.
"Now whether that's changed or not, possibly it has...
"Maybe now she's in the new position, maybe she likes that role and wants to make a difference there.
"But personally, and it's only my personal opinion, I would be surprised if she didn't fancy that job."
Ronan's fellow panelist Alan Cawley urged some caution, however, given the level of opposition that Ireland have faced in League B.
"If she's the ideal candidate, give her the job," he said. "But people suggesting after these three or four games that we're playing this amazing, attacking brand of football.
"It's nonsense, because these are three of the worst teams we ever could have played. So just rein that part of it in.
"We were 17th [in the rankings] so weren't in the top 16 in League A. Had we been in the top 16 and in with them, we wouldn't have been playing this football with Spain and Sweden and England.
"Katie [McCabe] would been playing in a more advanced role but we wouldn't dominating 90% of the ball."
No surprises on who the Player of the Match was in Ireland's 5-1 victory over Albania. With a hat-trick and two assists to her name, Katie McCabe lit up Tallaght Stadium. #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/OMjHLGRo1N
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 27, 2023
Those in attendance at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening were treated to a virtuoso performance from Ireland's regular skipper, who handed the armband over to Diane Caldwell on the occasion of the defender's 100th international cap.
McCabe scored a hat-trick and laid on two assists for Carusa, to further cement her standing as Ireland's most gifted player.
Surrounded by younger starlets such as Abbie Larkin and Izzy Atkinson, McCabe's leadership once again provided a calming presence as Ireland got the result.
The Arsenal star is likely to take back the captain's armband on Tuesday, but her performance on Friday was an example of someone who doesn't need a piece of cloth to show that she is the player that everyone will turn to in times of need.
A repeat victory the most likely outcome
Aside from a scare in the seventh minute when Megi Doci scored an equaliser for Albania, Friday's task was another straightforward one for Ireland.
Tuesday's hosts are currently ranked 72nd in the world, compared to Ireland's placing of 24th, and that gap showed itself on Friday, minus the aforementioned blip.
Gleeson's side have another opportunity to rack up the goals to add to their already impressive +11 goal difference in the group, and the flight home could be a jovial one, if Northern Ireland v Hungary ends in stalemate.
Watch Albania v Republic of Ireland in UEFA Nations League on Tuesday from 4.50pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on 2fm's Game On
