UEFA Women's Nations League play-off second leg
Belgium v Ireland
Tuesday, King Power at Den Dreef, 7.30pm
TV
There will be love coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport.
RADIO
Listen to live radio commentary on an extended Game On with 2fm.
WEATHER
The weather at the time of kick-off shouldn't be an issue for Ireland, with the temperature set to be 12 degrees. It will be relatively dry with most of Tuesday’s rain expected early in the day but there should still be a bit of a breeze kicking about.
Chasing a famous evening in Leuven
Irish sport has made its mark in Leuven already – the local GAA team, the Earls of Leuven, are one of the most famed on the continent and even have a spot on the city’s Wikipedia page – but now it’s Carla Ward’s side who have the chance to add another reason to think fondly of it.
They have travelled with a two-goal advantage following their stunning 4-2 first leg success in Dublin on Friday – and that even includes the concession of a late goal.
Republic of Ireland 4-1 Belgium
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 24, 2025
Turning into a wonderful night for Carla Ward's side as Marissa Sheva rattles home the fourth to the roof of the net
📺 Live coverage on @rte2 and @RTEplayer
📱Updates https://t.co/BTJ0s9rh7W pic.twitter.com/FE2dwMOaRD
Prior to the game, Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward had been grilled about the "outside noise" that had dominated her 10-month reign with the FAI’s off-field issues a constant headline-grabber.
Ward continually stated that the focus needed to be more on the football, and the result on Friday certainly helped in that regard.
They can lose by one goal and still earn promotion to League A of the Nations League, a scenario they would have snapped at before the first leg.
Ward said before that game that she wouldn’t park the bus, and true to her word, she set her team up to go aggressively at the Red Flames with more freedom given to the marauding Katie McCabe, set to reach 100 caps on Tuesday, who scored twice and forced Belgian goalkeeper Nicky Evrard into an own goal.
"Massively different," was Ward’s prediction of the second leg. That more than likely will apply to Ireland’s set-up too with a little bit more caution expected now they have something to hold on to.
Belgium are a top 20 side in the world rankings. Over the last two years, excluding last Friday, Ireland have played nine games against sides currently in top 20, winning one (France), drawing another (Italy) and losing seven. The aggregate score has been 18-4 against, so the confidence drawn from the win over Belgium cannot be underestimated.
Ireland have played three games in Belgium previously, losing all three - 4-1 (1981), 5-1 (1986) and 1-0 (2021). Belgium also won an international friendly in Spain in 2019.
Belgian 'bouncebackability’ a key asset
Belgium’s form guide over the last 10 games is LWLLWLWLWL – their inconsistency is both a weakness and a weapon.
Four of their last five defeats have been followed by a win in their next fixture, so their ‘bouncebackability’ is strong but for head coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir, who couldn’t hide the anger on her face walking off the Aviva pitch on Friday, it’s a quality she’d prefer they didn’t have to call on so often.
Marie Detruyer’s late strike in the 4-2 defeat certainly keeps the door ajar though ahead of the second leg. They need to score twice at least, something they have managed in seven of their 12 games in 2025.
They’ve found the net six times inside the opening 25 minutes this year, twice inside five minutes with Tessa Wullaert putting them ahead against England after just four minutes in April and improving her time by a minute in the win over Portugal in July.
The Belgian captain served notice of her quality with a classy, lobbed finish in Dublin and she will be the player tasked with leading their early blitzkrieg – Ireland must find a way to survive that opening quarter.
Tactical rather than personnel tweaks expected
Ireland played an adventurous 3-5-2 in attack at the Aviva with Katie McCabe and Aoife Mannion given license to get forward down the wings and adding extra cover when Belgium forayed into the Irish half.
It will not have escaped Irish eyes that despite being unusually passive when pressing and trying to counter, Belgium still managed to find the net twice. It seems almost inevitable that the wing-backs in particular will be asked to stay closer to home - but on Monday Ward again reiterated that there would be no surrendering of their forward instincts.
"I couldn't be any clearer: this isn't about we're going to the game 2-0 up. This is a game of football we want to win on the night," she said.
Diane Caldwell, Julie-Ann Russell, Niamh Fahey and Louise Quinn have all retired in recent times, and these are the sort of situations that require new leaders to emerge to fill the gaps left by so much experience departing the scene.
As for the team, Grace Moloney had an okay evening deputising for the injured Courtney Brosnan, with her decision-making suspect in the visitors’ first goal, but she should remain in situ.
The big question is whether Ward opts to parachute Anna Patten back into the team given her suspension is up. The in-form Aston Villa player would usually be a cert to come in, but with Caitlin Hayes, Jessie Stapleton and Chloe Mustaki performing so well as a unit on Friday, it is a trickier than usual decision.
Away goals do not count
A gentle reminder that, like most major competitions now, the away goal rule is not in play. If the aggregate score is level after the two legs, extra-time will be played. Penalties follow, if required.
Watch Belgium v Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Women's Nations League play-offs on Tuesday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live radio commentary on an extended Game On with 2fm
