As we close the book on the sporting year and get ready for another massive one, we’re looking back on some of our favourite pieces of sportswriting published on The 42 in 2023.
Today: After three weeks traversing Australia to cover Ireland’s debut at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, Emma Duffy reflected on a game-changing tournament for the sport in this country.
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HOW IT ENDED is how it will be remembered, which is sad.
A manager-and-captain over-and-back, another tetchy press conference and a cryptic tweet.
A first-ever World Cup point overshadowed by yet more drama, as everything came to a contentious close in Brisbane on the last day of July.
Vera Pauw’s future was in focus before Ireland’s final game, against Nigeria. The history-making manager’s contract expires imminently.
That would be a big line of questioning in the post-match press conference, but nobody expected it to play out quite as it did.
The room was packed, the tension palpable and oppressive. It wasn’t Pauw’s first such press conference like this; might it be the last?
Pauw confirmed an exchange with Katie McCabe around the 70th minute. The captain urged her to “freshen it up”. The Dutch coach gave her customary honest view of events.
“Why would we change? If Katie McCabe says that she wants a change, that doesn’t mean . . . she’s not the coach, yeah. Everybody was doing so well. So I said, ‘What do you want, Katie, taking the best player off? No.”
She later name-dropped Sinéad Farrelly, which many have taken issue with.
None more so than McCabe, who tweeted a zipped mouth emoji shortly afterwards.
Reporters were furiously filing copy when the tweet flashed up.
More drama, more pandemonium.
An Irish Goodbye to the World Cup? The very opposite.
*****
If that fractious press conference feels a long time ago now, the start of the journey is from a different age. In between is a blur, albeit a vivid one. History. Legacy. Pride. Flights. Frustration. Drama. Controversy. Emotion. Sydney. Perth. Brisbane. The 75,784 attendance. Amhrán na bhFiann. Fans. Penalty heartbreak. Katie’s corner. Courtney’s save. More flights. And that zipped mouth emoji.
Then there were the weeks leading up to 10 July, when The 42 left these shores for Australia. It was during that time that the seeds of the subsequent discord were evident.
One day sticks out in the memory: the eve of the farewell friendly against France at Tallaght Stadium, and another tense media engagement. The Athletic’s report was out, containing fresh allegations against Pauw from her time at Houston Dash in 2018 – allegations she unequivocally refutes.
Perhaps it’s coincidental, but it’s understood contract talks stalled around that time. The Athletic says Pauw approached the publication in April, questioning “double standards” and that’s thought to have grated with some players and the FAI.
That France pre-match press conference was striking. It was dominated by Pauw’s response to the allegations. McCabe, next to her, appeared frustrated.
“It’s been a pleasure talking about the World Cup, guys. Really appreciate it,” the skipper said as she departed, having discussed the “negative distraction” and “external noise”. McCabe also swerved several opportunities to back Pauw which hinted at a less than harmonious relationship between the group’s two biggest personalities.
As the soap opera has played out, the football story should not be relegated, for it is a mighty one.
Six years after the lows of Liberty Hall in 2017, Ireland made it to the biggest stage in the game. From gut-wrenching failure in Kiev to sparkling success in Glasgow, and everything in between, it would all culminate in Sydney.
Regardless of the result, 20 July 2023 will go down in Irish football history. From early on, there was a special feeling in the ether. Stirring videos from the FAI added to the emotion as the clock was watched, waiting for those back home to awaken and the communal nerves to kick in. All around the sun-drenched Sydney Harbour, Irish fans announced their presence. The Fields, Olé, Come On You Girls In Green — all were sung with gusto and pride.
Some had travelled 17,000km across the world to witness history, others present now call Australia home. Together they made their way towards Stadium Australia, way out west of the city.
The tournament had started with a wallop as co-hosts New Zealand shocked Norway, but the biggest impact would be felt a little over an hour before kick off. Sam Kerr, Australia’s golden girl, was out with a calf injury.
The walkout and anthems are the things that will stay with you forever: the final steps of a journey that was started deep into the last century by those who always had to travel uphill and into the wind, but kept going.
The games themselves, like our days, merge into one. Ultimately the stats and timelines fade, while the moments become more vivid.
Marissa Sheva’s face when she conceded the penalty, her tears on the bench. Steph Catley’s remarkable penalty. McCabe and Louise Quinn’s late chances.
The 1-0 defeat and the feeling of being agonisingly close, yet out of reach, would become the theme of the tournament for Ireland.
It really is hard to shake that feeling of ‘What if?’ Such is sport.
An 11-day, three-game, 5,946km baptism of fire across Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. That’s without the travel from Dublin to their Brisbane base and back again, with almost 40,000km put down across eight flights in a little over three weeks.
A marathon, not a sprint was how it was billed. This was like a sprint, marathon, heptathlon, decathlon and whatnot else all rolled into one. From the abandoned Colombia game and the fallout, to injury scares to Denise O’Sullivan, Louise Quinn, Heather Payne and other off-field drama, it was tumultuous. Chaotic at times.
Ireland’s World Cup moment had to be McCabe’s Olimpico.
In the lashing rain in Perth, with four minutes gone, Ireland hit the front against the Olympic champions. The roar was incomparable as the Arsenal star’s corner curled into the net.
About two hours later, though, the dream died.
2-1.
Ireland showed their worth on the world stage, but zero points from two games meant they would soon leave the show.
Add an unfortunate own goal to the penalty heartbreak and the tears flowed.
Irish players thanked the supporters for their magnificent backing, then moved through the mixed zone, ashen-faced. Words were tough to find, but not for the first time, Ireland’s captain stood up.
“Do it for the love of it,” an emotional McCabe said. “For myself and each and every player in my team, the reason we started playing football was because of the love we have for the game and the smile it brings to our faces, the people you meet along the way, the teammates you have, and creating special moments like this.
“This is our first-ever major tournament and I know for a fact, given those performances we put in, it won’t be our last. I want young girls and young boys in Ireland to dream and look up to us, because it could be them one day sitting here, playing and representing their country. I’m so proud and honoured to be able to lead the team to our first-ever major tournament.
“It was about creating history getting here but it’s also about leaving a legacy behind as well. We’ve given those girls and boys in Ireland the chance to dream and be like us one day. I hope we’ve done them proud, I hope we’ve done the nation proud.”
*****
One game remained, a chance to return home with points to match the endeavour.
After a cancelled flight back to Brisbane and a re-route via Sydney, a fraught weekend unfolded in Queensland. Pauw’s future was in the spotlight; the football felt secondary.
Several players would not be drawn into talk, again, when given every chance to back their manager. Doubt grew as the Nigeria game neared.
What had been building for weeks, perhaps months, came to the fore at Brisbane Stadium.
The game finished 0-0, a historic point for Ireland, yet what happened afterwards would dominate the conversation about this team.
*****
USA, USA, USA!!!
The fanzone in Sydney was electric, with all eyes on the last-16 showdown between the back-to-back champions and Sweden.
In truth, very little else of the tournament was seen until Ireland went home.
The 42 stayed on an extra few days to experience it all as a spectator. France v Brazil, Germany v Korea, Netherlands v South Africa and England v Nigeria. An AFL game between Brisbane Lions and Geelong at the Gabba also made the itinerary.
To cover Ireland’s first World Cup was a professional honour. To hang around and take it all in as a paying fan was a joy.
USA-Sweden was great fun. Sydney was full of American fans who expected their team to top the group, but instead it was Netherlands who finished in first place. They beat South Africa earlier in the day, and full focus was on USA now.
They dominated Sweden and should have got the job done ten times over in normal time, and then extra time, but a penalty shootout beckoned.
Twist after twist, turn after turn.
Step up Megan Rapinoe to win it. Written in the stars?
Or not.
Surely her heir apparent Sophia Smith would seal the deal.
“Close it, Soph,” one fan repeatedly shouted.
Soph did not close it.
Ultimately, Sweden’s Lina Hurtig did. By millimetres.
‘USA, USA, USA!!!’ a neutral roared in gest.
That was that. New champions would emerge, and Spain eventually took the crown.
The disbelief of the USA fans matched that of Germany when they crashed out at the group stage for the first time ever. Ireland’s group rivals, Canada, suffered a similar fate. So too did Brazil, as Morocco, Nigeria and Colombia were among those who established themselves as emerging forces through a thrilling tournament.
Australia had a fairytale run on home ground, their quarter-final shootout win over France one for the ages. England, Sweden and Japan also impressed, but ultimately Spain proved supreme.
The fallout continues, the grotesque behaviour of federation president Luis Rubiales overshadowing their historic achievement. Just when you think you can talk about football . . .
*****
Back in Ireland, it’s a waiting game.
An internal FAI review is wrapping up with a board meeting due to take place early next week. Clarity is expected on Pauw’s future as next month’s Nations League showdown against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium nears. It may come as soon as this weekend.
“I don’t feel this is my last game,” Pauw said defiantly after the Nigeria draw.
At the homecoming in Dublin city centre, she leaped around the stage and vowed to go for medals at Ireland’s next tournament.
It’s difficult to look to the future without managerial certainty. Yet whatever happens, we can continue to progress.
There’s been some player turnover already, with Áine O’Gorman announcing her international retirement and Harriet Scott stepping away from football to pursue her medical career.
The World Cup bubble truly bursts this weekend, with club football taking precedence once more. The Women’s FAI Cup kicks off, while the Championship gets going across the water.
What will the World Cup dividend be here in terms of fans through the gates? Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne are among the clubs running ticket incentives with free entry up for grabs, the former welcoming two World Cup heroes back to the fold at Tallaght Stadium in O’Gorman and the electric Abbie Larkin.
With interest levels at an all-time high, attendance and participation figures should continue to rise, in tandem with coverage. The Aviva next month is the ideal setting to kickstart.
This should be a leap forward for the women’s game, a watershed moment to bring it to the next level.
Yet worrying news has emerged from the Metropolitan Girls League, a dispute unfolding in Dublin girls’ football with thousands of young players in limbo.
Another waiting game. Another stark reminder of the challenges that endure.
The growth and development of Irish women’s football must continue following this World Cup.
How it ended is how most will remember it, but it’s so much more than that.
As Katie McCabe said, it’s about “leaving a legacy”. That legacy is not tweets or emojis or questionable songs sung at the wrong time. It’s not rancour or recrimination or tactical squabbles in the heat of the fight.
“Do it for the love of it,” said McCabe. That’s what it’s about and why every one of us ever played the game, no matter our level. So many more thousands of kids, and adults, in this country will have felt that spark of joy for the game because of this team.
We’re right there now: a serious football nation. In the game.
As ever we’ll keep trying to take that next step. Just imagine we always had the wind at our backs.
