IN THE 69TH minute at Tallaght Stadium last Tuesday night, France brought Melvine Malard off the bench as they trailed 1-0.
10 minutes later, the Manchester United star had scored twice to down Ireland.
Another substitute, Lyon striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, cleared the ball off the line after Denise O’Sullivan’s last-gasp effort.
Four days on in Utrecht, the Netherlands made a triple substitution in the 66th minute when it was deadlocked 1-1. With a combined 355 caps, Esmee Brugts, Daniëlle van de Donk and Jackie Groenen entered the fray.
Barcelona winger Brugts (22) swung in the corner which led to Lineth Beerensteyn’s winner eight minutes from time.
Two disappointing – but hugely encouraging – 2-1 defeats for Ireland in the opening 2027 World Cup qualifying double-header. Two brace-scoring heroes. Two benches turning the respective games.
France made five substitutions, and the Netherlands four, respectively; for her part, Carla Ward made two against France, and three against the Netherlands.
Abbie Larkin and Amber Barrett came on in both games – the former at the same time as the Dutch triple sub at Stadion Galgenwaard, where Saoirse Noonan also got a run out in the dying minutes. No impact could compare to that of their world-class counterparts.
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Ward used 15 of the 23 players available to her in the opening window. She made one change to the starting team, enforced by Denise O’Sullivan’s knee injury.
- Depth -
Squad depth – or lack thereof – and age profile have been concerns for some time, but both were laid bare in recent days.
Of both Irish XIs, seven players are aged 30 or over. All but one – back to back Player of the Match Emily Murphy – are over 25. The average age of all 15 players to feature is 28.4, skewed somewhat by the inclusion of 20-year-old Larkin.
Tara O’Hanlon (20), Jessie Stapleton (21), Tyler Toland (24) and Murphy (23) were the only other players under the age of 25 in the squad. Fifteen are aged 28 or over, with Ruesha Littlejohn (unused here) the oldest aged 35.
Ireland head coach Carla Ward. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Perhaps most alarming is the fact that only five players have made debuts since the 2023 World Cup: Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Emily Murphy under predecessor Eileen Gleeson, and Erin Healy and Sophie Whitehouse for Ward. (By comparison, Vera Pauw awarded 21 debuts between 2019 and 2023.)
That’s across almost three years and now four campaigns, spanning the Nations League, Euro 2025 and World Cup 2027 qualifying.
In that time, there have been eight retirements: Áine O’Gorman, Harriet Scott, Sinead Farrelly in the months after Australia, and Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell, Julie-Ann Russell, Louise Quinn and Megan Campbell in 2025.
- Pathways -
This is not lost on Ward, or new FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football Lizzy Kent.
“Over the last few months, we’ve been discussing a lot of the depth chart and how we can progress the young players and get them closer to first-team football. The reality is, you don’t want to bring players in that aren’t ready,” said Ward last month.
“You can’t bring in players just for the sake of freshening things up.”
Injuries have hampered the development of some young talents like O’Hanlon, Ellen Molloy (21), Jess Ziu (23) and Izzy Atkinson (24), but breakthroughs have been few and far between.
Bar uncapped goalkeeper Katie Keane, none of the U19 squad that reached the 2024 European Championship finals have graduated to the senior set-up, while there has been no League of Ireland representation in recent squads.
Ward has name-checked teenage midfielders Madison McGuane (Treaty United) and Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians) in recent months, but always comes back to the “massive jump”.
Calls are ever present for an U23 international team to bridge the gap, but the lack of finances – and non Fifa requirement – mean it’s highly improbable in the near future. There was no mention of it in the FAI’s 2026-2029 strategy, which was published on Tuesday.
- Priorities -
Whatever about blooding new players in friendlies, or against lower-ranked opposition, now is not the time.
Ward, who spoke about all of these issues in an in-depth interview with The 42 last year, is in a results business; her remit is to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
With a play-off guaranteed, Ireland are targeting a third-place finish in Group A2 for a more favourable route. Next month’s double-header against third seeds Poland will prove decisive.
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Due back: Denise O'Sullivan. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
One major boost is that O’Sullivan is expected to return for the first game in Gdansk on Tuesday 14 April, with Ward citing “positive news” from a recent consultation.
Her absence was keenly felt in midfield against the Netherlands on Saturday as the Liverpool star was cruelly denied her 130th cap. Lucy Quinn replaced her in a straight swap, but struggled as the Dutch got a foothold on proceedings.
While question marks remain around the middle, the changing of the guard in defence has been successful and the attack is settled, but lacking a cutting edge.
Katie McCabe scored both goals in this window from left-wing back, one from a devastating counter-attack and the other a penalty. The captain is the leading active goalscorer, with 33 in 103 caps, while O’Sullivan (22) and Kyra Carusa (12) are next in line.
Ireland offered more going forward, and on the ball in general, in this window. They had 16 attempts across both games, with 10 on target.
The attacking stats from the France game are interesting: six of Ireland’s nine attempts were on target, as opposed to Les Bleues‘ three from 12. The hosts had twice as many shots on target, but France scored two goals from their three. Clinical.
Poland’s record goalscorer, Ewa Pajor, is just that. The Barcelona superstar has two goals from their two games (a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, followed by a 4-1 defeat to France).
Ireland will be hoping to keep her quiet after being undone by Malard and Beerensteyn, as they look to take the positives from a tough start. For Ward, her staff and players, the focus is very much on the present.
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Depth chart and ageing squad laid bare in tough start to World Cup qualifying
IN THE 69TH minute at Tallaght Stadium last Tuesday night, France brought Melvine Malard off the bench as they trailed 1-0.
10 minutes later, the Manchester United star had scored twice to down Ireland.
Another substitute, Lyon striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, cleared the ball off the line after Denise O’Sullivan’s last-gasp effort.
Four days on in Utrecht, the Netherlands made a triple substitution in the 66th minute when it was deadlocked 1-1. With a combined 355 caps, Esmee Brugts, Daniëlle van de Donk and Jackie Groenen entered the fray.
Barcelona winger Brugts (22) swung in the corner which led to Lineth Beerensteyn’s winner eight minutes from time.
Two disappointing – but hugely encouraging – 2-1 defeats for Ireland in the opening 2027 World Cup qualifying double-header. Two brace-scoring heroes. Two benches turning the respective games.
France made five substitutions, and the Netherlands four, respectively; for her part, Carla Ward made two against France, and three against the Netherlands.
Abbie Larkin and Amber Barrett came on in both games – the former at the same time as the Dutch triple sub at Stadion Galgenwaard, where Saoirse Noonan also got a run out in the dying minutes. No impact could compare to that of their world-class counterparts.
Ward used 15 of the 23 players available to her in the opening window. She made one change to the starting team, enforced by Denise O’Sullivan’s knee injury.
- Depth -
Squad depth – or lack thereof – and age profile have been concerns for some time, but both were laid bare in recent days.
Tara O’Hanlon (20), Jessie Stapleton (21), Tyler Toland (24) and Murphy (23) were the only other players under the age of 25 in the squad. Fifteen are aged 28 or over, with Ruesha Littlejohn (unused here) the oldest aged 35.
Perhaps most alarming is the fact that only five players have made debuts since the 2023 World Cup: Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Emily Murphy under predecessor Eileen Gleeson, and Erin Healy and Sophie Whitehouse for Ward. (By comparison, Vera Pauw awarded 21 debuts between 2019 and 2023.)
That’s across almost three years and now four campaigns, spanning the Nations League, Euro 2025 and World Cup 2027 qualifying.
In that time, there have been eight retirements: Áine O’Gorman, Harriet Scott, Sinead Farrelly in the months after Australia, and Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell, Julie-Ann Russell, Louise Quinn and Megan Campbell in 2025.
- Pathways -
This is not lost on Ward, or new FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football Lizzy Kent.
“Over the last few months, we’ve been discussing a lot of the depth chart and how we can progress the young players and get them closer to first-team football. The reality is, you don’t want to bring players in that aren’t ready,” said Ward last month.
Injuries have hampered the development of some young talents like O’Hanlon, Ellen Molloy (21), Jess Ziu (23) and Izzy Atkinson (24), but breakthroughs have been few and far between.
Bar uncapped goalkeeper Katie Keane, none of the U19 squad that reached the 2024 European Championship finals have graduated to the senior set-up, while there has been no League of Ireland representation in recent squads.
Ward has name-checked teenage midfielders Madison McGuane (Treaty United) and Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians) in recent months, but always comes back to the “massive jump”.
Calls are ever present for an U23 international team to bridge the gap, but the lack of finances – and non Fifa requirement – mean it’s highly improbable in the near future. There was no mention of it in the FAI’s 2026-2029 strategy, which was published on Tuesday.
- Priorities -
Whatever about blooding new players in friendlies, or against lower-ranked opposition, now is not the time.
Ward, who spoke about all of these issues in an in-depth interview with The 42 last year, is in a results business; her remit is to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
With a play-off guaranteed, Ireland are targeting a third-place finish in Group A2 for a more favourable route. Next month’s double-header against third seeds Poland will prove decisive.
One major boost is that O’Sullivan is expected to return for the first game in Gdansk on Tuesday 14 April, with Ward citing “positive news” from a recent consultation.
Her absence was keenly felt in midfield against the Netherlands on Saturday as the Liverpool star was cruelly denied her 130th cap. Lucy Quinn replaced her in a straight swap, but struggled as the Dutch got a foothold on proceedings.
While question marks remain around the middle, the changing of the guard in defence has been successful and the attack is settled, but lacking a cutting edge.
Katie McCabe scored both goals in this window from left-wing back, one from a devastating counter-attack and the other a penalty. The captain is the leading active goalscorer, with 33 in 103 caps, while O’Sullivan (22) and Kyra Carusa (12) are next in line.
Ireland offered more going forward, and on the ball in general, in this window. They had 16 attempts across both games, with 10 on target.
The attacking stats from the France game are interesting: six of Ireland’s nine attempts were on target, as opposed to Les Bleues‘ three from 12. The hosts had twice as many shots on target, but France scored two goals from their three. Clinical.
Poland’s record goalscorer, Ewa Pajor, is just that. The Barcelona superstar has two goals from their two games (a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, followed by a 4-1 defeat to France).
Ireland will be hoping to keep her quiet after being undone by Malard and Beerensteyn, as they look to take the positives from a tough start. For Ward, her staff and players, the focus is very much on the present.
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