OUTBELIEVE.
WHILE SWEDEN suggest how to ‘maybe stand a chance’ against them, the message coming from Irish quarters is a little more pared back.
The promotion piece in Dublin Airport was certainly striking en route to Gothenburg; a nice touch amidst the current chaos of departures.
To Gothenburg 🇮🇪🇸🇪
— Emma Duffy (@emmaduffy_) April 11, 2022
*picture does not accurately represent how chaotic Dublin Airport is pic.twitter.com/bLYHdbwLes
Front and centre of Sky’s newest campaign, which is built around the first-ever TV ad for the Girls In Green, is Louise Quinn.
The epitome of outbelieve.
Referencing her rock-bottom Birmingham City side’s shock 2-0 win over top-of-the-table flyers Arsenal in the Women’s Super League this season, she smiled:
“It just shows if you know your role on the day, if you execute it really well, if you work extremely hard and take your chances early on, it’s so possible…
“Really, really possible.”
Ireland face the second-ranked team in world football at Gamla Ullevi Stadium this evening [KO 5.30pm, Irish time], with the red-hot Swedes on the verge of automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
A single point will see Peter Gerhardsson’s star-studded outfit through, and allow them to perhaps put their full focus on living up to their favourites tag – rather than worrying about how others can stop them – at this summer’s European Championships
The Euros Ireland so devastatingly miss out on. But this bid to reach a first-ever major tournament is firmly on track, as Vera Pauw’s side sit second in Group A, in ascendency in the race for the coveted play-off spot.
Anything other than defeat in Gothenburg would, in truth, be a bonus. The result is no big deal in the grand scheme of things, as it all boils down to a decisive double-header against Finland (home) and Slovakia (away) in September.
That said, an extra point – or three, if they really do outbelieve and cause a monumental shock – would certainly be nice.
Typically, though, Ireland are up against it, with a defensive reshuffle necessary. Regulars Savannah McCarthy and Diane Caldwell are both ruled out through injury, and there’s a spot on the left of the back three going.
Should Pauw stick with her tried-and-tested formation, that is. Claire Walsh, Claire O’Riordan and Chloe Mustaki are among the options if a straight swap is on the cards.
Sweden could be forced into switches of their own, with three players including Barcelona ace Fridolina Rolfö in doubt due to illness.
But the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallists have a host of global superstars in their ranks, with absolutely zero question marks over their squad depth.
While Stina Blackstenius has been earmarked as a standout attacking threat – the Arsenal star’s strike resulted in the decisive own goal in Dublin – the hosts have a wide range of scorers, with 26 goals bagged so far this campaign.
They hit 15 of those against minnows Georgia last week, and will be hungry for more tonight. At the other end, they’ve conceded just once so Ireland will really need to click and be clinical in the final third if they are to threaten.
Through all their media duties, the Girls In Green have made no secret of the height of the challenge which lies ahead – but they know exactly what they need to do.
Patience will be a virtue as Sweden will undoubtedly dominate possession, buoyed by a record home crowd.
The Swedish FA announced yesterday morning that 12,000 tickets had been sold, and a full house of between 14,000 and 15,000 is expected. A carnival atmosphere, so. A real party, with big celebrations on the horizon should they seal the deal.
“They’ll be looking to get the job done and qualify, and hopefully, we can ruin the party,” as Ruesha Littlejohn said last week.
Pauw took the focus off that in her pre-match press conference yesterday, though.
“Spoiling the party for Sweden, we’re not busy with that at all,” the manager said. “At all.
“Because this is a massive game, and we have enough to face. If you get a result here, of course, that would be magic.”
Magic, indeed.
They’ve done it before – remember the 0-0 draw against the Netherlands in Nijmegen in 2017 – why can’t they do it again?
There’s no reason why they can’t be at the top table with the very best, throwing parties of their own in the near future.
“We definitely have the calibre of players to be up there,” as Katie McCabe enthused yesterday. “We definitely want to be a team that are difficult to play against, that teams hate playing against, giving that fight.
“In October, we showed good glimpses of how we can play as well. Yes, we can defend in a low block but we can show how exciting we are going forward with the Denise O’Sullivans and Heather Paynes. We know our qualities and what we are good at and we will take that into tomorrow.”
Perhaps, just maybe, Ireland might stand a chance…
In the final episode of the series, The Front Row – The42’s new rugby podcast in partnership with Guinness – welcomes comedian Killian Sundermann in to studio.
The online funnyman fills us in on his schools rugby days, gaining recognition during the pandemic, making his stand-up debut and travelling around Europe in a van. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
The42 / SoundCloud