A NEW WEEK.
And a monumental one, at that.
The biggest ever in the history of Irish women’s football.
The week of weeks.
On Thursday, Ireland will make their major tournament debut when they face Australia in their home World Cup opener. Over 80,000 tickets have been sold for the Sydney showdown, over 4,000 Irish fans expected to make the long journey Down Under and many who have relocated to these parts due to flock to New South Wales.
Final preparations are underway for Vera Pauw and her squad at their Brisbane base, and they’ll make the short flight to Sydney on Wednesday morning.
They’re back in business following a Sunday reset; recharged and refreshed after what must have been a weird few days. “Overly physical” Colombian play, six days out from the opener, saw Ireland abandon their final warm-up game at Meakin Park on Friday night. Denise O’Sullivan, one of the team’s top stars, was hospitalised afterwards with doubts over her World Cup availability due to a shin injury. She participated in light training this evening as her team moved through the gears and wore their first club jerseys in a lovely tribute, with Pauw sharing “really good hopes”.
There has been no shortage of noise on social media as the fallout continues, with Ireland blocking it all out and ready to do their talking on the pitch.
Saturday was a recovery day, with some players undergoing a pitch session and others in the pool. A full day off followed on Sunday, as everyone involved escaped the World Cup intensity and switched off in various different ways.
“We’ve been go, go, go everyday, so it’s nice to have a day where you are not doing too much,” Heather Payne explained at their plush Emporium Hotel on Monday afternoon.
One group headed for the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary yesterday, while another visited Surfer’s Paradise and spent a beach day on the Gold Coast. Other players spent time with family and friends, relaxing and enjoying their beautiful surroundings in Brisbane’s South Bank.
Their opponents on Thursday, Australia, did just that too, with Steph Catley among those wandering up Little Stanley Street — one full of eateries and coffee joints — and the parklands around the Brisbane River. They’re staying and training nearby, also in Brisbane until Wednesday.
While the Matildas are spending a lot of their down time on X-Boxes arranged by star defender Ellie Carpenter, Ireland are also decompressing with technology and various other means: Netflix, walks, coffees and kicking back in the team room at their hotel.
“There’s a players’ lounge upstairs, with Normatec (compression boots), recovery and TV, a snack room and it’s looking out onto the river as well,” Payne detailed. “It’s just a nice area to relax and sit down and chat.”
We all start from somewhere 💚#COYGIG | #Grassroots pic.twitter.com/ZlrAZKTbSk
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There will be plenty of Australia analysis over the coming days, but Payne did some of her own despite being off yesterday. She watched bits and pieces of their 1-0 win over France, which occurred at the same time as the fraught Colombia friendly.
No off days for a real student of the game.
It’s been a long camp to say the least, with the squad effectively together since 12 June. No doubt it’s been difficult at times amidst off-pitch controversies and jetlag, but spirits remain high as the real nervous excitement kicks in.
“It kind of hit me yesterday, really, thinking tomorrow is Monday, just four days to the game,” Payne, one of the team’s key players, says. She’s in line for a move to England after the World Cup, the former Florida State University star now playing at right-wing back for Ireland with her centre forward days in the rear-view mirror.
“I’m getting more and more excited. I want to be really, really focused now from today onwards. It’s a huge occasion and it is really exciting. The closer we get to it the more excited I am. It’s he biggest game of our lives.”
And one she is relishing in front of her family, who are en route from Ballinasloe.
“I always like playing bigger games. I’ve found out about myself growing up that the bigger the occasion, the better. It allows you to be way more tuned in. Since it’s such a big game, you have to try to be fully focused. Of course the excitement is there, but everyone needs a bit of nerves, I think nerves are good. If you are not nervous, it’s a little bit worrying. You kind of feed off that and then you just go from there.”
Onwards to the biggest week in the history of Irish women’s football.
