THE AVIVA STADIUM debate has continued for long enough. This should put it to bed.
The Republic of Ireland have drawn France, England and Sweden in League A of the Women’s Euro 2025 qualifiers. As head coach Eileen Gleeson said, it’s “probably the hardest group any Irish team has ever been placed into”.
As the immediate dread subsided after this afternoon’s draw, the excitement and sense of opportunity kicked in.
This is surely the moment to push for the Aviva as Ireland’s home venue for these games.
We wanted to be here, now we are. Let’s have it 🇮🇪💚 https://t.co/ONVgCUi6NV
— Denise O'Sullivan (@OSullivanDenise) March 5, 2024
With international windows fast approaching in April, June and July, the fixtures are due to be announced on Wednesday.
It’s understood home games can be played at different venues, but Lansdowne Road is the best possible stage for these glamour ties.
The FAI have talked about alternating between the Tallaght Stadium and the Aviva in the past. Surely the calibre of opposition, and the fact that England are among them, allied to the growth in crowds at Tallaght, means the time is now for a more permanent move.
Ireland first played at the national stadium last September, with 35,994 fans attending for a Saturday afternoon Nations League showpiece against Northern Ireland.
They returned to their Tallaght Stadium base thereafter. A record crowd of 8,218 watched last Tuesday night’s international friendly defeat to Wales.
“I want to be selling out Tallaght, I want to be selling out the Aviva in time as well,” captain Katie McCabe told The 42 before the game.
The visit of England offers the right opportunity for that, but France and Sweden are huge draws too.
Yes, there’s an argument to consistently fill Tallaght first, with the capacity now over 10,000 after the opening of the new North Stand, but this is the ideal platform to build sustainable, big crowds at the Aviva.
Gleeson spoke on the matter this afternoon. “We only have certain slots in the Aviva. The fixtures will be announced and then we can determine what slots are available for what games. They’re all super exciting and I’m sure the stadia will be packed out with support.
“Suffice to say we’ve got some slots but I don’t know what they are right now. In terms of big games, you’ve got your pick. Any of them [could be played at the Aviva].”
Being pitted against world champions Spain is the only way this draw could have been any tougher for Ireland. France were the second highest-ranked top seed, and Gleeson’s side find themselves among the teams ranked third, fourth and fifth in the world. For context, Ireland are 24th.
England are the reigning European champions and World Cup finalists. Sweden are the Olympic champions. Ireland’s group counterparts make up three of the four Euro 2022 semi-finalists.
The top two teams qualify directly for Euro 2025 in Switzerland next summer, yet there’s the safety net of a play-off spot for third and fourth place. The basement team, though, is relegated for the next Nations League competition.
The seedings are directly linked to the previous edition. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses were the standout team in Pot 2, having put their autumnal struggles behind them, while Sweden were among the Nations League playoff winners to avoid in Pot 3. They were indeed top seeds in Ireland’s World Cup qualifying group and went on to take bronze at the finals tournament after dethroning USA.
Ireland, under the watch of Vera Pauw back then, held the Swedes to a 1-1 draw on a famous night in Gothenburg in April 2022. The home game the previous October saw them fall to a narrow 1-0 defeat.
The Girls In Green also squared up to France recently. Last July’s World Cup warm-up in Tallaght ended in a 3-0 dismantling to Les Bleus, who eventually went all the way to the quarter-finals.
You’d have to go back to 1987 for the last time Ireland played England in a capped game. They lost 1-0 in an international friendly at Dalymount Park. The sides did meet in an uncapped friendly in La Manga in 2014, with Ireland losing on the same scoreline.
10 years on, the Lionesses are all-conquering though. They have some of the best players in world football, their bench stronger than a lot of other starting XIs. They have found their goalscoring rhythm once again: recent friendly wins over Austria (7-2) and Italy (5-1) were statements of intent. Ireland were delighted to hold Italy to a scoreless draw a few days beforehand.
It’s no secret that they could really hurt Ireland, particularly should their home game be played in the Wembley Stadium cauldron.
France, similarly. The Nations League finalists are a powerful, attacking team, and they tore their hosts to shreds on the stroke of half time in Tallaght last summer.
Ireland will have to frustrate the lives out of their opponents if they are to get points on the board. They’ll have to pull the handbrake up on the more expansive style Gleeson has deployed of late, and stick with a low block early on. Try and catch teams on the counter, or off set-pieces, as is tradition. Be adaptable, as the new head coach has implored. Let the shackles off when the time is right.
It’s difficult to say what a good performance in the group is in terms of points. Ireland will be targetting wins, but draws may be more achievable results against these top-tier sides. They’ve done it against Sweden in the past — and away, at that — so why not again?
Gleeson shared a team mantra after the draw: “Be where your feet are”.
It’s one they will be referring to over and over through the campaign.
“We are here in League A so we act like we are in League A,” she added.
Onto April. The Aviva Stadium is calling.
