32 mins: After a period of France pressure, Ireland are looking more comfortable now.
In recent minutes, there’s also been movement from Abbie Larkin on the Irish bench, but no change has been made yet.
19 mins ago
7:59PM
26 mins: Karchaoui takes a pot shot from distance that sails a couple of inches wide.
France are coming more into this game and starting to dominate possession and territory, but Carla Ward will be relatively happy with what she’s seen so far.
23 mins ago
7:55PM
21 mins: Diani gets a sight at goal from a tight angle but blasts wastefully over.
We’re halfway through the opening period, and France have yet to seriously test Brosnan.
It’s been a frustrating opening quarter for the visitors.
Leanne Kiernan, Jessie Stepleton, Tara O'Hanlon and Grace Moloney inspect the pitch ahead of the game. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
1 hr ago
7:05PM
Confirmation of the visitors’ starting XI for this evening…
— Equipe de France Féminine (@equipedefranceF) March 3, 2026
1 hr ago
7:04PM
The other game in Ireland’s group has already finished with Poland drawing 2-2 at home to the Netherlands.
Much of the talk ahead of this campaign had been of Ireland aiming for third place ahead of the Poles, with the French and the Dutch favourites to take the top two spots.
But that result emphasises how Poland — ranked three places above Ireland by Fifa — won’t be easy to take points off either.
1 hr ago
6:58PM
Confirmation of Ireland’s starting XI, which is more or less as expected
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 3, 2026
1 hr ago
6:56PM
Hello, and welcome to this evening’s liveblog.
Ireland host France in the opening game of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Carla Ward’s side will go into the game as underdogs — they are 20 places below tonight’s opponents in the latest Fifa rankings.
However, Ireland have shown they can do it, overcoming France 3-1 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in July 2024, albeit against a weakened side that had already qualified for the Euros and topped the group anyway.
Tonight, the Girls in Green will be aiming to show that it was not a one-off freak result.
Kick off for tonight’s game at Tallaght Stadium is at 7.30pm.
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LIVE: Ireland v France, World Cup qualifier
Ireland 1-0 France
There will be four minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half…
45 mins: It’s been a scrappy last few minutes with not a lot happening.
Carla Ward, you’d imagine, will be very happy at half-time.
McCabe took her goal well, and Ireland have rarely looked like conceding.
Here’s a look at the Connolly free kick from earlier…
32 mins: After a period of France pressure, Ireland are looking more comfortable now.
In recent minutes, there’s also been movement from Abbie Larkin on the Irish bench, but no change has been made yet.
26 mins: Karchaoui takes a pot shot from distance that sails a couple of inches wide.
France are coming more into this game and starting to dominate possession and territory, but Carla Ward will be relatively happy with what she’s seen so far.
21 mins: Diani gets a sight at goal from a tight angle but blasts wastefully over.
We’re halfway through the opening period, and France have yet to seriously test Brosnan.
It’s been a frustrating opening quarter for the visitors.
Here’s a look at the opening goal…
14 mins: Right after scoring, McCabe gets booked for a late challenge on De Almeida.
That looked a painful one for the French player, who requires treatment.
Ireland take the lead, and it’s a really well-worked goal.
Murphy, who has been lively early on, slips through McCabe, who finds the corner of the net with a clinical low finish.
IRELAND 1-0 FRANCE (MCCABE 12)
4 mins: Good moment for Ireland.
O’Sullivan plays through Murphy, and De Almeida gets booked for impeding the Irish attacker as she runs through on goal.
Connolly’s free kick is then parried away for a corner.
The ensuing set piece leads to a chance for Patten, but the Aston Villa star’s header is easily saved.
It’s been a very open start to this game, with neither side afraid to attack.
2 mins: Decent start by France.
They have won a free kick (in a dangerous area) and a corner in quick succession.
We’re underway…
The two managers share their thoughts ahead of the game…
Confirmation of the visitors’ starting XI for this evening…
The other game in Ireland’s group has already finished with Poland drawing 2-2 at home to the Netherlands.
Much of the talk ahead of this campaign had been of Ireland aiming for third place ahead of the Poles, with the French and the Dutch favourites to take the top two spots.
But that result emphasises how Poland — ranked three places above Ireland by Fifa — won’t be easy to take points off either.
Confirmation of Ireland’s starting XI, which is more or less as expected
Hello, and welcome to this evening’s liveblog.
Ireland host France in the opening game of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Carla Ward’s side will go into the game as underdogs — they are 20 places below tonight’s opponents in the latest Fifa rankings.
However, Ireland have shown they can do it, overcoming France 3-1 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in July 2024, albeit against a weakened side that had already qualified for the Euros and topped the group anyway.
Tonight, the Girls in Green will be aiming to show that it was not a one-off freak result.
Kick off for tonight’s game at Tallaght Stadium is at 7.30pm.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Carla Ward Liveblog Minute-by-Minute Soccer France Ireland Republic World Cup qualifier