Eileen Gleeson called on the Republic of Ireland fans to give her team an "absolutely huge" boost tomorrow night as they look to pull off a massive upset against England at the Aviva Stadium.
The Girls in Green began their Euro 2025 qualification campaign against an imperious France in Metz last Friday, falling to a 1-0 defeat. Facing a side ranked third in the world, Ireland registered just one effort on goal and didn't win a single corner.
It doesn't get any easier.
Reigning European champions England come to Dublin with a point to prove after they failed to hit top gear in a 1-1 draw against Sweden at Wembley.
The FAI said over 30,000 tickets have been sold for this international derby, and Gleeson wants a Lansdowne roar to drive her underdogs towards what would be a major shock.
"Huge, absolutely huge," she replied when asked how important the home crowd will be.
"We’re hoping it’ll be nice and loud, sing along with the anthem with us. I don’t know if you could hear the stadium the other night in Metz but it was absolutely phenomenal, the whole stadium singing (La Marseillaise).
"I think it’s a real boost, definitely, that support for us, when we’re in Tallaght, when we were at the Aviva for the Northern Ireland game. It makes a real difference."
Jess Ziu has failed to overcome a hamstring issue so Glasgow City attacker Emily Whelan has been drafted into the squad. Amber Barrett also has a hamstring injury, hobbling off the field just 10 minutes after her introduction as a substitute against France but she remains in camp for further assessment.
Gleeson watched back England's draw with the Swedes but insisted there was little new to glean from it.
"Not really any surprises," she said. "We know England and, over certainly their Nations League campaign, they're a team that dominates possession within the range of 60 to 70% against opposition – Austria, Italy, Sweden, Scotland. It was the same the other night.
"Sweden had 36% possession with the ball. Their set-up, I think they’re very aggressive high lines, no surprises but obviously they’re still bringing their quality."
Captain Katie McCabe will square up to plenty of familiar faces at the Aviva. England's cluster of Arsenal stars will be well aware of the Dubliner's capabilities, but McCabe wouldn't be drawn too much on notion that this encounter will have any unique edge.
"It's just another game for us," she said. "It’s just another step in our journey in qualification for the Euros. We know it’s going to be tough. That’s what we’re made of, we’re made of strong stuff as Ireland and as a nation, and we are at home.
"As Eileen said, over 30,000 tickets sold, and that buzz that the fans create for us whether in Tallaght or at the Aviva is so special to us and we feel that when we step onto the pitch, we feel that we’ve got a stadium behind us and it’s going to be massively important for us tomorrow night."
Watch Republic of Ireland v England in Euro 2025 qualifying on Tuesday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on 2fm's Game On
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