Lest we forget the last: July 2023 v Colombia in Brisbane, Australia.
Six days out from their World Cup debut, Ireland abandoned their final warm-up after 20 minutes due to “overly physical” Colombian play.
You might remember Denise O’Sullivan was brought to hospital with a shin injury, fearing her tournament was over before it began.
Or perhaps the words of Vera Pauw ring a bell?
“The fear in the players’ eyes made me convinced that we had to take action. They feared for their bodies.”
Maybe those of Colombia’s Daniela Caracas are the most memorable.
“They are just girls, one little foul and they started complaining. Let them eat shit.”
The 42 was among the Irish outlets locked out at Meakin Park who spent the following days trying to piece together what happened.
Footage of the challenge on O’Sullivan emerged, along with other minute details, but much of the 20 minutes remains a mystery.
As Kanye famously said, I guess we’ll never know.
Two and a half years on, we meet again.
Ireland face Hungary in Marbella next Saturday, rounding off a training camp on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
This is an official, capped international friendly, although closed to the public and media.
A strange situation, to say the least. The post-match Zoom press conference will be, er, interesting.
Carla Ward speaking to the media this week. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Ward requested that the game be behind closed doors “to try some bits and pieces” away from the glare of World Cup qualifying opponents France, Netherlands and Poland.
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She will hope to keep footage under locks, but there are few secrets in football.
You get the sense that this international window is about much more than a game, however.
It’s an extended period on the grass, with Ireland’s focus on themselves rather than the opposition at the end of the week. “A principles-based camp”, as Ward puts it, with France and Netherlands taking precedence ahead of February’s blockbuster double-header.
The players will arrive on Monday, with three pitch sessions, two daily meetings, gym work and recovery awaiting them before Saturday’s match at Marbella Football Centre.
As the November cold bites, some sun and highs of 19 degrees will be most welcome on Ireland’s return to the Spanish city: they had other camps there under Pauw, beating Morocco 4-0 in November 2022 and drawing 0-0 with China PR in nearby Cadíz a few months later.
Training days are set as next Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. There will be an in-possession day, an out-of-possession day, and they’ll bring it all together with match-specific activity on the Uefa-coined MD-1. “The players love that, all at stake, it’s very competitive,” says Ward.
The morning meetings set up the pitch sessions, with discussion, animation and video clips all utilised. Fine-tuning their 5-3-2 system will be a priority, while looking to those of upcoming opponents.
Reviewing training is the aim of the evening congregation: good, bad and indifferent.
“We’ll bring it to life,” Ward explains.
“People laugh at me for it, but I love a classroom task and getting players to bring their thoughts and feelings to life.
“Good conversations, good discussions, and we’ll deep dive into making sure when they go to bed they’re really clear on what we’ve gone after and what we’ve achieved.”
Tara O'Hanlon returns for the first time since April 2023 after a torrid time with injury. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The approach feeds into Ward’s squad selection. While Kelly Brady’s first official call-up and Tara O’Hanlon’s long-awaited return took the headlines, there was disappointment in some quarters at the lack of rotation and decision not to blood more young talent.
Ward acknowledged as much as she name-checked underage midfield duo Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians) and Madison McGuane (Treaty United) as two players knocking on the door.
“I did question whether we brought in a lot of fresh faces in this camp, but actually, when we look forward to February, it is so important that those players that are going to be involved in February really get the detail and the messaging into them.”
Downtime and bonding will be key, as always.
Players often talk about the tight-knit nature of the group, and publicise it on social media through coffee adventures, sing-songs and games.
The US friendlies came in for huge criticism in June, but Ward says it was “such a powerful trip for team cohesion”. She’ll hope for more of the same in Marbella.
Let’s all wish for a very different Ireland WNT behind-closed-doors game at the end of the week, though.
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Inside Ireland's upcoming training camp in Spain - ahead of behind-closed-doors friendly
WELCOME BACK, IRELAND WNT behind-closed-doors game.
Lest we forget the last: July 2023 v Colombia in Brisbane, Australia.
Six days out from their World Cup debut, Ireland abandoned their final warm-up after 20 minutes due to “overly physical” Colombian play.
You might remember Denise O’Sullivan was brought to hospital with a shin injury, fearing her tournament was over before it began.
Or perhaps the words of Vera Pauw ring a bell?
“The fear in the players’ eyes made me convinced that we had to take action. They feared for their bodies.”
Maybe those of Colombia’s Daniela Caracas are the most memorable.
“They are just girls, one little foul and they started complaining. Let them eat shit.”
The 42 was among the Irish outlets locked out at Meakin Park who spent the following days trying to piece together what happened.
Footage of the challenge on O’Sullivan emerged, along with other minute details, but much of the 20 minutes remains a mystery.
As Kanye famously said, I guess we’ll never know.
Two and a half years on, we meet again.
Ireland face Hungary in Marbella next Saturday, rounding off a training camp on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
This is an official, capped international friendly, although closed to the public and media.
A strange situation, to say the least. The post-match Zoom press conference will be, er, interesting.
Ward requested that the game be behind closed doors “to try some bits and pieces” away from the glare of World Cup qualifying opponents France, Netherlands and Poland.
She will hope to keep footage under locks, but there are few secrets in football.
You get the sense that this international window is about much more than a game, however.
It’s an extended period on the grass, with Ireland’s focus on themselves rather than the opposition at the end of the week. “A principles-based camp”, as Ward puts it, with France and Netherlands taking precedence ahead of February’s blockbuster double-header.
The players will arrive on Monday, with three pitch sessions, two daily meetings, gym work and recovery awaiting them before Saturday’s match at Marbella Football Centre.
As the November cold bites, some sun and highs of 19 degrees will be most welcome on Ireland’s return to the Spanish city: they had other camps there under Pauw, beating Morocco 4-0 in November 2022 and drawing 0-0 with China PR in nearby Cadíz a few months later.
Training days are set as next Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. There will be an in-possession day, an out-of-possession day, and they’ll bring it all together with match-specific activity on the Uefa-coined MD-1. “The players love that, all at stake, it’s very competitive,” says Ward.
The morning meetings set up the pitch sessions, with discussion, animation and video clips all utilised. Fine-tuning their 5-3-2 system will be a priority, while looking to those of upcoming opponents.
Reviewing training is the aim of the evening congregation: good, bad and indifferent.
“We’ll bring it to life,” Ward explains.
“People laugh at me for it, but I love a classroom task and getting players to bring their thoughts and feelings to life.
“Good conversations, good discussions, and we’ll deep dive into making sure when they go to bed they’re really clear on what we’ve gone after and what we’ve achieved.”
The approach feeds into Ward’s squad selection. While Kelly Brady’s first official call-up and Tara O’Hanlon’s long-awaited return took the headlines, there was disappointment in some quarters at the lack of rotation and decision not to blood more young talent.
Ward acknowledged as much as she name-checked underage midfield duo Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians) and Madison McGuane (Treaty United) as two players knocking on the door.
“I did question whether we brought in a lot of fresh faces in this camp, but actually, when we look forward to February, it is so important that those players that are going to be involved in February really get the detail and the messaging into them.”
Downtime and bonding will be key, as always.
Players often talk about the tight-knit nature of the group, and publicise it on social media through coffee adventures, sing-songs and games.
The US friendlies came in for huge criticism in June, but Ward says it was “such a powerful trip for team cohesion”. She’ll hope for more of the same in Marbella.
Let’s all wish for a very different Ireland WNT behind-closed-doors game at the end of the week, though.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
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