CARLA WARD SIGNED off with a simple message on Friday night.
“Everyone’s beatable. Let’s fucking go.”
A famous 3-2 win over Netherlands at Páirc Uí Chaoimh had set up a straight shootout against France for automatic World Cup qualification.
Ireland are daring to dream, harbouring hopes of winning their group and taking the direct route to Brazil 2027.
Nothing to lose, everything to gain, with a seeded play-off spot safely secured.
“This is a very, very different game on Tuesday now because it’s essentially a cup final, right?” said Ward of the Grenoble showdown.
“Let’s be really, really honest. It’s not a group game anymore. This is winner takes all. That’s what this game is now. I can’t fucking wait. It’s so wild.”
“Sorry,” she added, with a cheeky grin directed towards her press officer for swearing.
Carla Ward celebrates at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Here’s three talking points as France move into full focus after the Dutch demolition.
1. Ireland’s attacking threat
Ireland have scored nine goals in five games, finding the back of the net in every fixture of the campaign to date. After five games in League A two years ago, they had scored just once – at the very death of the fifth game.
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There have been six different providers – Katie McCabe, Emily Murphy, Marissa Sheva, Kyra Carusa, Abbie Larkin and Amber Barrett – with the majority of goals coming from open play in a significant departure to tradition.
Against Netherlands on Friday, Ireland had three attempts and scored all three. (The Dutch had 17, five on target.) That clinical edge has been key, with Barrett the late hero after being introduced in the closing stages alongside Leanne Kiernan and Saoirse Noonan.
“I think some people thought I was mad when I looked to the bench and I said, ‘Right, get every single attacking player ready, we’ve got to go for it, why not?’” Ward reflected.
“As a player, I was a 10, I liked to play football a lot. I was an attacking player and I liked to go score goals. And (managing) at club football, I’ve always tried to play with an attitude with the ball and be a little bit more attacking. And you know what? It probably hurt me early on coming in here in the system that I started with so we had to then build back.
“We almost had to go backwards to build our out of possession structure in a (back) five. And then we restart again with the way we want to play with the ball. But this lot, they enjoy it. So I tell them all the time, enjoy the ball with the ball. Enjoy the fight without the ball. That’s critical.”
2. Players stepping out of the shadows
Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan have been Ireland’s superstar duo for as long as many remember. Others have well and truly stepped up in this campaign, with Ward getting the best out of them on the international stage.
Emily Murphy was Player of the Match in the opening three matches. Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Chloe Mustaki have been totemic in defence, Mustaki’s international career reinvigorated under Ward. Abbie Larkin is realising her long promised potential, Jess Ziu has impressed again after injury woes, and Kyra Carusa leads from the front.
Marissa Sheva on the charge. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
But perhaps the most striking transformation is that of Marissa Sheva: from World Cup penalty disappointment and being left out in the cold under Eileen Gleeson, to becoming a Ward mainstay. Sheva split opinion early doors as an athletic presence out wide, but has found her home in central midfield with endless energy and technical ability.
“I say this all the time about Maz and a lot of the players. You look at their performances at the club, you look at when they put on that (Irish) badge. When they put on that badge, they become mentality monsters. They want to win football matches. They play out of their skins. And Maz is exactly that.
“She’s come on loads. You have to keep telling Maz what she’s really good at, which I’m delighted about because I love telling people what they’re good at. So she embraces it and she plays tremendously well for her national team.”
That confidence and belief seems to be paying dividends as players continue to step out of the shadows, regardless of their status at club level – most away from the bright lights of the WSL.
That the absence of O’Sullivan – and Murphy – on Friday was not glaring speaks volumes.
3. Lessons learned as campaign crescendos
Ireland took a dream lead against France in their March opener at Tallaght Stadium after Katie McCabe’s 12th-minute breakaway goal. They remained in front for just under an hour, before Melvine Malard broke their hearts with an eight-minute brace from the bench. Another substitute, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, made a crucial interception late on as she cleared an O’Sullivan effort off the line.
A second narrow 2-1 defeat followed away to Netherlands four days later, McCabe drawing Ireland level from the spot in the 50th minute before another two-goal hero, Lineth Beerensteyn, sealed the win eight minutes from time. Similarly, the Dutch bench press was pivotal as a 66th-minute triple sub helped turn the tide.
Katie McCabe celebrates after the famous Dutch win. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
They took the exact same approach at the Páirc, Jackie Groenen and Danielle van de Donk among three called for at the 55th-minute mark as they trailed 1-0. Groenen won the penalty and a later sub, Victoria Pelova, scored, but Ireland managed the introductions better here and Ward ultimately won the sideline battle.
Her decisions – as detailed above, and the pre-plan to give Ruesha Littlejohn and Ziu a half each – were all vindicated, with Barrett the super-sub once more.
That they took the lead three times, and hit back twice, shows the resilience, character and marked progress of this group.
“You learn a lot from defeats. We learned an awful lot in those first two games, but this is a very, very different game on Tuesday now,” said Ward, who will welcome O’Sullivan and Murphy back from suspension, though will be without Kiernan, who faces the same fate after a second yellow card.
One European heavyweight slain, another lying in wait. France are favourites, with dazzling attacking prowess and home advantage, but who would bet against Ireland now?
As Ward prepared to leave her press conference, she was asked one final question. Are Les Bleues better than Netherlands?
“Listen, they’re both top teams. They’re just very different. France, yeah… they’re both unbelievable but everyone’s beatable. Let’s fucking go.”
And with that, she’s gone. A pep in her step and a twinkle in her eye. World Cup utopia 90 minutes away.
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‘This is winner takes all. Everyone's beatable’ - Ireland’s French test for World Cup utopia
CARLA WARD SIGNED off with a simple message on Friday night.
“Everyone’s beatable. Let’s fucking go.”
A famous 3-2 win over Netherlands at Páirc Uí Chaoimh had set up a straight shootout against France for automatic World Cup qualification.
Ireland are daring to dream, harbouring hopes of winning their group and taking the direct route to Brazil 2027.
Nothing to lose, everything to gain, with a seeded play-off spot safely secured.
“This is a very, very different game on Tuesday now because it’s essentially a cup final, right?” said Ward of the Grenoble showdown.
“Let’s be really, really honest. It’s not a group game anymore. This is winner takes all. That’s what this game is now. I can’t fucking wait. It’s so wild.”
“Sorry,” she added, with a cheeky grin directed towards her press officer for swearing.
Here’s three talking points as France move into full focus after the Dutch demolition.
1. Ireland’s attacking threat
Ireland have scored nine goals in five games, finding the back of the net in every fixture of the campaign to date. After five games in League A two years ago, they had scored just once – at the very death of the fifth game.
There have been six different providers – Katie McCabe, Emily Murphy, Marissa Sheva, Kyra Carusa, Abbie Larkin and Amber Barrett – with the majority of goals coming from open play in a significant departure to tradition.
Against Netherlands on Friday, Ireland had three attempts and scored all three. (The Dutch had 17, five on target.) That clinical edge has been key, with Barrett the late hero after being introduced in the closing stages alongside Leanne Kiernan and Saoirse Noonan.
“I think some people thought I was mad when I looked to the bench and I said, ‘Right, get every single attacking player ready, we’ve got to go for it, why not?’” Ward reflected.
“As a player, I was a 10, I liked to play football a lot. I was an attacking player and I liked to go score goals. And (managing) at club football, I’ve always tried to play with an attitude with the ball and be a little bit more attacking. And you know what? It probably hurt me early on coming in here in the system that I started with so we had to then build back.
“We almost had to go backwards to build our out of possession structure in a (back) five. And then we restart again with the way we want to play with the ball. But this lot, they enjoy it. So I tell them all the time, enjoy the ball with the ball. Enjoy the fight without the ball. That’s critical.”
2. Players stepping out of the shadows
Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan have been Ireland’s superstar duo for as long as many remember. Others have well and truly stepped up in this campaign, with Ward getting the best out of them on the international stage.
Emily Murphy was Player of the Match in the opening three matches. Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Chloe Mustaki have been totemic in defence, Mustaki’s international career reinvigorated under Ward. Abbie Larkin is realising her long promised potential, Jess Ziu has impressed again after injury woes, and Kyra Carusa leads from the front.
But perhaps the most striking transformation is that of Marissa Sheva: from World Cup penalty disappointment and being left out in the cold under Eileen Gleeson, to becoming a Ward mainstay. Sheva split opinion early doors as an athletic presence out wide, but has found her home in central midfield with endless energy and technical ability.
“I say this all the time about Maz and a lot of the players. You look at their performances at the club, you look at when they put on that (Irish) badge. When they put on that badge, they become mentality monsters. They want to win football matches. They play out of their skins. And Maz is exactly that.
“She’s come on loads. You have to keep telling Maz what she’s really good at, which I’m delighted about because I love telling people what they’re good at. So she embraces it and she plays tremendously well for her national team.”
That confidence and belief seems to be paying dividends as players continue to step out of the shadows, regardless of their status at club level – most away from the bright lights of the WSL.
That the absence of O’Sullivan – and Murphy – on Friday was not glaring speaks volumes.
3. Lessons learned as campaign crescendos
Ireland took a dream lead against France in their March opener at Tallaght Stadium after Katie McCabe’s 12th-minute breakaway goal. They remained in front for just under an hour, before Melvine Malard broke their hearts with an eight-minute brace from the bench. Another substitute, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, made a crucial interception late on as she cleared an O’Sullivan effort off the line.
A second narrow 2-1 defeat followed away to Netherlands four days later, McCabe drawing Ireland level from the spot in the 50th minute before another two-goal hero, Lineth Beerensteyn, sealed the win eight minutes from time. Similarly, the Dutch bench press was pivotal as a 66th-minute triple sub helped turn the tide.
They took the exact same approach at the Páirc, Jackie Groenen and Danielle van de Donk among three called for at the 55th-minute mark as they trailed 1-0. Groenen won the penalty and a later sub, Victoria Pelova, scored, but Ireland managed the introductions better here and Ward ultimately won the sideline battle.
Her decisions – as detailed above, and the pre-plan to give Ruesha Littlejohn and Ziu a half each – were all vindicated, with Barrett the super-sub once more.
That they took the lead three times, and hit back twice, shows the resilience, character and marked progress of this group.
“You learn a lot from defeats. We learned an awful lot in those first two games, but this is a very, very different game on Tuesday now,” said Ward, who will welcome O’Sullivan and Murphy back from suspension, though will be without Kiernan, who faces the same fate after a second yellow card.
One European heavyweight slain, another lying in wait. France are favourites, with dazzling attacking prowess and home advantage, but who would bet against Ireland now?
As Ward prepared to leave her press conference, she was asked one final question. Are Les Bleues better than Netherlands?
“Listen, they’re both top teams. They’re just very different. France, yeah… they’re both unbelievable but everyone’s beatable. Let’s fucking go.”
And with that, she’s gone. A pep in her step and a twinkle in her eye. World Cup utopia 90 minutes away.
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