Girls in Green to return to Aviva for Belgium play-off
The Girls in Green last appeared at Lansdowne Road back in December, when they were agonsingly beaten by Wales in the second leg of their Euro 2025 play-off.
There's been plenty of changes since that fateful night.
Eileen Gleeson departed as head coach, replaced by Carla Ward who's had to deal with a quartet of high-profile retirements: Julie-Ann Russell, Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey and Louise Quinn are all now gone from the scene.
Ward's reign had a serious early wobble when her side were hammered 4-0 by Slovenia in Koper but they got their Nations League campaign back on track after that, winning their next four matches to finish second in League B Group 2 and earn a place in the play-offs.
"The game against Belgium is massive for us in wanting to get promoted to League A in the UEFA Nations League but also with helping us in the qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA World Cup, so it is fantastic that we will play the first leg in the Aviva Stadium," said Ward.
"The Aviva Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the world and I've been there as a fan on nights when the Irish fans create the atmosphere that they are famous for and it is really special. I'd encourage our fans to help make this another memorable night by securing their ticket and getting behind the team."
Belgium finished third in League A Group 3. Ranked 20th in the world, they acquitted themselves well in the top tier, most notably scalping England 3-2 thanks to a brilliant performance in Leuven.
Ireland - 25th in the world - are aiming to return to League A having been relegated from a group containing England, France and Sweden in 2024.
Belgium will travel to Dublin for the first leg before welcoming the Irish to their patch the following Tuesday.
Tallaght Stadium, Ireland's usual base in the capital, was available given Shamrock Rovers are away to Derry City in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division that night, but they will head for the big house as Ward looks to take a first-leg lead to Belgium. It'll be the fifth time the women's team have played at the stadium.
The boss brings her team to the USA for two friendlies on Thursday, 26 June in Denver, Colorado (2am Irish time), and Sunday, 29 June in Cincinnati (8pm Irish time).
Katie McCabe is among a number of senior players left out the squad, with Ward keen to give the Arsenal star a rest following a long and gruelling season.
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