Last October, Republic of Ireland women's boss Carla Ward admitted "outside noise" around the FAI had made her job tougher, with a stream of off-the-pitch controversies often overshadowing on-field matters.
She was, then, probably braced for the topic of Israel to be raised during her post-squad announcement press conference at FAI HQ on Tuesday lunchtime.
From the moment Heimir Hallgrimsson's side were drawn in the same Nations League group as the Israelis last Thursday, debate has swirled about whether the Dublin fixture would - or indeed should - take place in October.
Ward tilted the focus towards the FAI when asked about her views on the draw.
"Firstly, it's devastating for all involved and it's one of those… my political views won't come into this," she said.
"I think my job is the football side, similarly to Heimir. It's a difficult one, isn't it? I believe (FAI CEO) David Courell will be talking to you guys (the media) fairly soon. I think that's for them to answer rather than myself to get caught up in it."
Manager Carla Ward has named her Republic of Ireland squad for next month's Women's World Cup qualifiers against France and the Netherlands pic.twitter.com/68XFdF0Uwd
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 17, 2026
As Ireland women prepare to begin their 2027 World Cup qualification campaign against France and the Netherlands in early March, there is the possibility that Ward's charges could end up facing Israel themselves in next autumn's play-offs.
When asked if she'd support her players if they didn't want to play in a particular fixture, Ward replied: "Look, I support my players in all their decisions, football and non-football decisions, you know, I help them; personal lives and politically, whatever they feel.
"I usually sit down and have those conversations behind closed doors and we come to a solution. Like I said, I'm supportive of all the players with everything they do."
Ireland begin a very tough qualification campaign against the French at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday 3 March before heading to Utrecht four days later for a meeting with the Dutch. Their slaying of Belgium in the Nations League play-off promoted them to League A, and that means they are guaranteed a spot in the play-offs even if they finish bottom of the group.
Not that Ward is thinking in those terms. She hopes that bringing France to Tallaght, rather than the Aviva, will give her players an dge.
"Good teams want space, right? And just as a club manager, if we came up against the top four, we wanted to play on a horrible, boggy pitch and make it tight and compact. And I'm not saying, by the way, that Tallaght is that. But certainly when you play somewhere like the Aviva, it definitely gives the advantage to - on paper - the better opposition.
"So we've got to make it difficult, of course. But, yes, I believe anyone's beatable. On the day, I believe we can beat anyone.
"Let's be really honest, we're the underdogs. It's an Irish mentality that the nation loves; we thrive off that, you know, playing against the very, very best, competing against the very best. I think it puts us in a position to see where we are and challenge."
Ward eased any concerns around Liverpool midfielder Denise O'Sullivan, who has been playing in the WSL with heavy strapping on her right knee: "Every time I see her knee strapped, I'm on the phone! But no, listen, it's just precaution… we know she's had knee trouble in the past. It's more just protection."
She also addressed the future of her captain Katie McCabe, who is reportedly heading for a summer exit from Arsenal.
"I've spoken to Katie," Ward said. "She's one of the best left-backs in the world. I think that she will have a lot of options. I think there'll be a lot of people wanting to speak to her, wanting her signature.
"When you're one of the very best in the world, you're not going to be short of options. Wherever she moves, in my opinion, will be a top club getting a very top player."
Ward stood over her decision to include Ruesha Littlejohn, who's had very little game time at Crystal Palace in the last two months. At the start of December, the 35-year-old received a five-match ban after being sent off for for grappling with Leicester's Hannah Cain. The suspension has been served, but Littlejohn is stll on the periphery at Palace.
"What I've said before is Ruesha is critical in terms of the environment and her leadership skills for senior players," she said.
"We're thankful that actually, when we've weighed up that midfield, what are the options, what who's been playing minutes, who hasn't... she's been training consistently since the last camp.
"Obviously she's had a suspension, she's played a couple of in-house games. There are always conversations because that midfield, there's a lot of players that aren't particularly playing minutes, but the beauty of it is we've got Lily Agg that's close to returning to full fitness (after being out for over a year with an ACL injury) and she was on the fringes, being really honest as well, as were a couple of others. It'd be good moving forward, getting plenty of options in there."
