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Irish Examiner
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Fatigue and fundamental errors leave Ireland exposed again against USA
International friendly: USA 4 (Lynn Biyendolo 11, Izzy Rodriguez 42, Yasmine Ryan 66, Alyssa Thompson 86) Ireland 0 In the Land of the free, Ireland were prone to presenting gifts to their American hosts. This pair of friendlies against the top ranked nation in the world were billed as ideal preparation for the Uefa Nations League playoff against Belgium in October. That sales pitch was compromised once USA manager Emma Hayes excused all bar one of her foreign-based players for the exercises. Hence the team she fielded in Thursday's first outing in Colorado was akin to a second string. That she chose to change the entire XI from that 4-0 stroll for this rematch indicated she was dipping into her third selection of personnel. That scoreline was easily repeated here but the biggest cheer of the sweltering afternoon came when the turkey shoot was complete, the introduction of Rose Lavelle for her 112th cap. Renowned as the Queen of her City, the centurion with an Irish grandfather was hardly needed here to execute another hiding for Ireland. Fundamental lapses again hurt Ireland, from the eleventh minute when the defence was sprung to allow captain Lynn Biyendolo volley home, to four minutes from the end as Alyssa Thompson roamed clear to beat Courtney Brosnan. Extracting positives will be difficult. Carla Ward can point to the absences of their two marquee players, Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan, yet the lack of effort on goal over the 180 minutes is still telling. When opportunities arose from that traditional route of set-pieces, Ireland were substandard. Anna Patten was unable to connect properly with Chloe Mustaki's free-kick while substitute Megan Connolly sent her delivery straight into the goalkeeper's hands. Overall, it seemed the distance between the teams was far wider than 24 places in Fifa's standings. Kyra Carusa did get one sight in the first half, only to ripple the sidenet when set up by her strike partner Saoirse Noonan. Patten told RTÉ: 'Words cannot describe how difficult it was. Playing against a team of that calibre with a two-day break in that heat was ridiculous. 'We didn't have enough options when we had the ball. That's when we can get our breath. Our aim is to get to Brazil and it's important to know what it feels like and how best we can prepare in this temperature.' It marks the third 4-0 defeat in eight games in the Ward era but the most damaging was the loss to a Slovenian side in February ranked behind them. Margin for error in League B was minimal for Ireland to regain their spot in the top tier and by the end of the six-match series a second placed finish left Ireland needing to overcome the Belgians for an easier path to another World Cup when the qualifiers kick off next February. This was another victory earned at pedestrian pace. Mustaki was caught upfield, enabling Emily Sams to bomb down the right and float a cross for Biyendolo to volley into the top corner. Chances continued to flow for the hosts and their second arrived three minutes before the break when Ireland failed to clear. Brosnan did well to keep out Sears from point-blank range but the rebound fell kindly for Izzy Rodriguez to crown her debut with a first goal. Fatigue clearly kicking off, Ward rang changes at the break without it altering the pattern of dominance. On 66 minutes, Coffey showed determination to keep the ball from crossing the endline. Two passes later and Yasmine Ryan was able to smash a low drive into the bottom corner. Damage limitation continued for Ireland but they were unable to avoid a fourth. Thompson, considered one of the few first-choices to feature, made an instant impact off the bench by ghosting in behind and finishing with aplomb. Ward spoke afterwards about getting her players home safely and it's questionable the value of these humblings were for the competitive contest in four months' time. USA: M McGlynn; E Sams, J Bugg, T McKeown; C Bethune (A Sentnor 63), S Meza (R Lavelle 87), I Rodriguez, L Biyendolo (S Coffey 63); O Moultrie (C Hutton 80), E Sears, Y Ryan (A Thompson 80). IRELAND: C Brosnan; J Stapleton, C Hayes, A Patten, C Mustaki (H Nolan 46); E Murphy (M Connolly 46), T Toland, M Sheva, A Larkin (Lucy Quinn 80); K Carusa, S Noonan (A Barrett 60). Referee: Janeishka Caban (Puerto Rico)
The 42
17-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Aviva Stadium to host Republic of Ireland v Belgium in first leg of Nations League play-off
THE REPUBLIC OF Ireland will host Belgium in the first leg of their Uefa Nations League promotion/relegation play-off at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, 24 October. Carla Ward's side have the opportunity to secure promotion to League A should they overcome Belgium across two games, with the second leg taking place in Belgium on Tuesday, 28 October. Advertisement Ireland were sent into the play-off route after finishing second in Group 2 in League B on the back of a 1-0 win against Slovenia in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. They fell short of the four-goal victory needed to seal to spot and secure automatic promotion. Should the aggregate scores remain level after the two games against Belgium, extra-time will be played followed by a penalty shootout if required. League A status significantly boosts 2027 World Cup qualification hopes, with all teams guaranteed a play-off with favourable seedings. '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,' Ireland boss Carla Ward said after the fixture announcement. '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.' Ireland will head to the United States next month to play two international friendlies in preparation for the Belgium clash. The first game against the world number one side is set for Thursday, 26 June in Denver, Colorado, followed by the second meeting on Sunday, 29 June in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Irish Examiner
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland's WNT to face Belgium at the Aviva in first leg of Nations League play-off
The Ireland Women's National Team (WNT) will take on Belgium in the first leg of their Uefa Nations League promotion/relegation play-off at the Aviva Stadium on Friday October 24. They will play the return leg on Tuesday October 28 and should the aggregate scores over the two games remain level extra-time will be played followed by a penalty shoot-out if required. Ireland finished second in Group two in League B on goal difference have an opportunity to secure promotion to League A if they overcome Belgium in their two leg play-off. The game at the Aviva will be the fifth outing for the WNT side at the national venue and to date have attracted a collective attendence of 117,438 spectators. Speaking on the clash being played at the Aviva, head coach Carla Ward said: '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. '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.' Ticket and full match details will be announced over the coming weeks.
RTÉ News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Girls in Green to return to Aviva for Belgium play-off
The Republic of Ireland will play the first leg of their Nations League promotion/relegation play-off against Belgium at Aviva Stadium on Friday 24 October. 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.
Fox Sports
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Mexico overcomes slow start to defeat Dominican Republic 3-2 in CONCACAF Gold Cup opener
Associated Press INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Defending champion Mexico overcame a slow start to defeat the Dominican Republic 3-2 on Saturday night in the CONCACAF Gold Cup opener. West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez opened the scoring in the 44th minute, Fulham striker Raul Jimenez added a goal in the 47th and defender Cesar Montes got another one in the 53rd. Jiménez is third on the Mexican career scoring list with 40 goals, trailing only Jared Borgetti's 46 and Javier Hernandez's 52. 'It was a good win to start with. I congratulate my team, who maintained their emotional balance. It was a hard-fought, but fair victory," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. 'Our rival did a lot of merit, they demanded us, they did a good job.' Costa Rica and Suriname, the other countries in Group A, play Sunday in San Diego. 'We were patient, we scored three goals and it was an attractive match for the fans, although there are things that need to be corrected,' Aguirre added. Peter Gonzalez scored in the 51st minute and Edison Ascona in the 67th for the Dominicans, who earned their first qualification as one of the four group winners in League B of the CONCACAF Nations League. The match at SoFi Stadium drew 54,309, most of them rooting for Mexico. There was uncertainty on how many Mexican fans would attend the match. On Friday, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum urged U.S. officials not to target individuals attending the game. Dozens of workers have been detained by federal immigration authorities in a series of raids in LA's fashion district and at Home Depot parking lots in Southern California. More than 100 people have been detained. Mexico can clinch a quarterfinal berth when it plays Suriname on Wednesday at Arlington, Texas, part of a doubleheader that includes the Dominican Republic facing Costa Rica. ___ AP soccer:
