'Two down, two to go' - Irish target back-to-back World Cups
'Two down, two to go' - Irish target back-to-back World Cups
Lauren McCann - BBC Sport NI JournalistWed, October 14, 2026 at 7:11 AM UTC
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Republic of Ireland recorded a 12-0 aggregate victory over Kazakhstan in their play-off semi-final
Republic of Ireland of Ireland's record at Pairc Ui Chaoimh is played four, won four.
But they will head back to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for their Women's World Cup play-off final second leg against Poland in December.
A 4-0 win in Cork on Tuesday, after an 8-0 first leg victory in Astana, ensured an easy passage to the play-off final for Carla Ward's side.
While they have enjoyed their trips to Cork in the last two years, Dublin's Aviva has been chosen for the huge game, as it has been for other crunch encounters for the women's side through the years.
Indeed, their most recent game at the Aviva was a 1-0 victory over Poland in April, when midfielder Marissa Sheva scored the winner which ultimately secured third in the group and a seeded play-off.
The Irish have play-off defeat demons to exercise in the venue after their Euro 2025 loss against Wales there on 3 December 2024.
Boss Carla Ward wants everyone to "forget" that game and will not be using it as fuel to drive her players on as she believes they have evolved greatly from that low ebb.
"We've come a long way since then. I ask you lot to never mention Wales again in the next window, let's forget about it. It would be great if you could," she said.
Ward's wish of having that infamous second leg fully put to be bed just over two years on can be granted if they can get past Poland, a team they know all too well.
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As mentioned, Republic of Ireland and Poland were paired together in Group A2 of qualifying.
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Republic of Ireland got their first win of the group against the Poles in a five-goal thriller which they edged 3-2 in Gdansk on 14 April.
They followed that up with a 1-0 win in Dublin four days later, which came in front of a crowd of over 18,200 at the Aviva.
That number is expected to be far greater in December, given the magnitude of the game, with Ward saying the team needs "our biggest crowd yet" to get over the line.
While the Irish strolled through their play-off first leg, Poland, who sit seven places behind Ward's side in the Fifa rankings, edged out Belgium 4-3 on penalties after a tense affair finished 3-3 after two legs.
Ward admitted she watched the full game before and during her own side's match in Cork and believes the Poles will be targeting "revenge" in Dublin as they seek to reach a first World Cup.
"They played a similar way as to how they did last time round. The beauty of it is we can look at their two games, but I'm not sure what they're going to take from our two games," she added.
"We know them, they know us and it's set up to be a good game. We knew when we drew one of those two it would be the toughest draw. That's a fact. Arguably even England didn't want the likes of Belgium or Poland. We know what we're up against but this team is growing all the time and we'll give it everything.
"We know as well we're getting better all the time. We have depth now and competition for places. The biggest thing will be focus and preparation and having that added edge of togetherness we have."
Selfishly the Republic of Ireland boss is hoping her players do "put themselves first in the coming weeks and make sure they're ready" while she and her staff prepare for "a lot of work behind the scenes next six weeks".
The mantra is clear: "two down, two to go" as Republic of Ireland look to create more history and reach another World Cup.
Source: “AOL Sports”
