IRELAND’S UEFA WOMEN’S Nations League playoff success over Belgium has significantly boosted their hopes of qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup.
Carla Ward’s side beat Belgium 5-4 on aggregate after Abbie Larkin’s late goal proved decisive in last night’s 2-1 second leg defeat in Leuven.
Promotion back to League A guarantees a seeded playoff for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, irrespective of how the qualifying campaign unfolds.
Ireland learn their group opponents in a draw next Tuesday, 4 November.
And Ward made no secret of her wish to be pitted against her native country, the back-to-back European champions.
“I would love England at Wembley,” she said. “But they’d probably play us at Pride Park or somewhere, wouldn’t they?!
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“We want to go and compete against the best. We want to be better. We want to play against the big teams on the big stage, which will only make us better.
“And qualification for the World Cup, that’s the dream. That’s what we want to achieve.”
Ireland will be in pot four for Tuesday’s draw, having become the first League B team to win a promotion/relegation playoff against a League A side since the inception of the Women’s Nations League in 2023.
Uefa guidelines stipulate that a playoff winner is ranked below the League B group winners, so Poland will be bumped up to pot three rather than Ireland replacing Belgium.
World champions Spain spearhead the 16-team League A line-up:
Pot 1: France, Germany, Spain, Sweden
Pot 2: Netherlands, England, Italy, Norway
Pot 3: Denmark, Austria, Poland, Iceland
Pot 4: Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine, Ireland.
A quick-fire group campaign awaits across February, April and June 2026.
The four League A group winners secure automatic qualification for the finals tournament the following summer; seven other spots are guaranteed in the European playoffs, with another up for grabs at an inter-confederation mini-tournament.
Katie McCabe, fresh from winning her 100th cap in Leuven, didn’t name an ideal opponent but the Arsenal Champions League winner would undoubtedly relish another crack at England.
“There’s so many exceptional teams up in League A. We’ll be looking forward to the draw,” the Irish captain said. “We have some experience in (League A) already. We know it’s going to be tough and we need to be at our best.
“Playing teams of that calibre, we’re going to really stretch ourselves and it’s going to get us out of our comfort zone and we’re going to be challenged to the highest level. To qualify for tournaments, we need to be playing against those teams.
“We need to be out of our comfort zone and playing up against the best in order to develop and improve. We just want to keep building. Obviously, we don’t want to peak too soon.”
Ward confirmed Ireland will play one friendly abroad in November, as they gear up for the next campaign having gathered significant momentum in recent days.
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McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan will continue to lead the charge, but blooding fresh talent will be crucial with a sizeable chunk of players in or nearing their thirties.
“We’ve got to look at not just the World Cup but the Euros as well,” said Ward. “And I said when I came in, I think we have to try and build a foundation where we’re consistently trying to compete for major tournaments. I think that’s really important.
“It doesn’t matter how long I’m here for. I want to be able to leave in a better place. Hopefully I’m here for years to come and you have to put up with me.
“I think it’s really important that we start to look across the board. But we are. And by the way, there’s some unbelievable 15- and 16-year-olds coming through and it might take a little bit of time to get them up to speed, but there’s some real good talent in that age group.”
- Updated 6.50pm, to confirm Ireland’s pot for the draw
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'I would love England at Wembley': Why Ireland's win is a major boost for World Cup qualification
IRELAND’S UEFA WOMEN’S Nations League playoff success over Belgium has significantly boosted their hopes of qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup.
Carla Ward’s side beat Belgium 5-4 on aggregate after Abbie Larkin’s late goal proved decisive in last night’s 2-1 second leg defeat in Leuven.
Promotion back to League A guarantees a seeded playoff for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, irrespective of how the qualifying campaign unfolds.
Ireland learn their group opponents in a draw next Tuesday, 4 November.
And Ward made no secret of her wish to be pitted against her native country, the back-to-back European champions.
“I would love England at Wembley,” she said. “But they’d probably play us at Pride Park or somewhere, wouldn’t they?!
“We want to go and compete against the best. We want to be better. We want to play against the big teams on the big stage, which will only make us better.
“And qualification for the World Cup, that’s the dream. That’s what we want to achieve.”
Ireland will be in pot four for Tuesday’s draw, having become the first League B team to win a promotion/relegation playoff against a League A side since the inception of the Women’s Nations League in 2023.
Uefa guidelines stipulate that a playoff winner is ranked below the League B group winners, so Poland will be bumped up to pot three rather than Ireland replacing Belgium.
World champions Spain spearhead the 16-team League A line-up:
Pot 1: France, Germany, Spain, Sweden
Pot 2: Netherlands, England, Italy, Norway
Pot 3: Denmark, Austria, Poland, Iceland
Pot 4: Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine, Ireland.
A quick-fire group campaign awaits across February, April and June 2026.
The four League A group winners secure automatic qualification for the finals tournament the following summer; seven other spots are guaranteed in the European playoffs, with another up for grabs at an inter-confederation mini-tournament.
Katie McCabe, fresh from winning her 100th cap in Leuven, didn’t name an ideal opponent but the Arsenal Champions League winner would undoubtedly relish another crack at England.
“There’s so many exceptional teams up in League A. We’ll be looking forward to the draw,” the Irish captain said. “We have some experience in (League A) already. We know it’s going to be tough and we need to be at our best.
“Playing teams of that calibre, we’re going to really stretch ourselves and it’s going to get us out of our comfort zone and we’re going to be challenged to the highest level. To qualify for tournaments, we need to be playing against those teams.
“We need to be out of our comfort zone and playing up against the best in order to develop and improve. We just want to keep building. Obviously, we don’t want to peak too soon.”
Ward confirmed Ireland will play one friendly abroad in November, as they gear up for the next campaign having gathered significant momentum in recent days.
McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan will continue to lead the charge, but blooding fresh talent will be crucial with a sizeable chunk of players in or nearing their thirties.
“We’ve got to look at not just the World Cup but the Euros as well,” said Ward. “And I said when I came in, I think we have to try and build a foundation where we’re consistently trying to compete for major tournaments. I think that’s really important.
“It doesn’t matter how long I’m here for. I want to be able to leave in a better place. Hopefully I’m here for years to come and you have to put up with me.
“I think it’s really important that we start to look across the board. But we are. And by the way, there’s some unbelievable 15- and 16-year-olds coming through and it might take a little bit of time to get them up to speed, but there’s some real good talent in that age group.”
- Updated 6.50pm, to confirm Ireland’s pot for the draw
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