On Friday night Ireland will face Netherlands in the penultimate league phase match of UEFA’s World Cup qualifying. Ahead of the fixture, The Halfway Line is here to preview everything you need to know.
Ireland welcome the Dutch to one of the few games of match day five that sees two teams that can still qualify for the World Cup automatically, face off. Even though a place at the World Cup is on the line, Ireland have already overachieved, beating third seed Poland home and away. Carla Ward‘s side might even be guaranteed a seeded play off spot before a ball is kicked on Friday, should France avoid defeat to Poland in the early kick off.
Both Netherlands and Ireland need to win to keep their league phase fate in their hands, regardless of results elsewhere. Defeat for Ward’s side would mean Ireland will be in the play offs. Victory, however, could set up a winner takes all tie against France next week with automatic FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification still on the line.
Who might replace the suspended O’Sullivan & Murphy?
Ireland will be missing two of their star turns in this qualifying campaign so far. Emily Murphy, who won three FAI Player of the Match awards in four matches is suspended. As is the recipient of the other Player of the Match award, Cork native and vice-captain Denise O’Sullivan.
The replacement for Murphy feels natural, Abbie Larkin is a player with a similar profile and she has had an excellent season, helping Crystal Palace to promotion to the WSL. Larkin was also recently nominated by her fellow professionals for WSL 2 PFA Player’s Player of the Season, another string to her bow. Additionally, she started in place of Kyra Carusa in Gdańsk in April when the San Diego native was taken unwell overnight. There is competition for the spot however, Saoirse Noonan, back in her hometown and fresh off a Scottish Cup final victory is another tempting option. As well as an Amber Barrett currently flying in France, these are welcome selection headaches for Carla Ward to have.
A more pressing question is who will join Megan Connolly and Marissa Sheva in the midfield. Feeling a sense of Deja Vu? That’s likely because Ireland faced the exact same dilemma against the same opponents in Utrecht with O’Sullivan missing due to injury. Carla Ward opted to go with the tried and tested Lucy Quinn in midfield. Quinn did well to acquit herself in large part but struggled at times against one of the best midfields in world football. Netherlands are likely to believe that Ireland will opt for the same again, and that could be the reason Ward opts to shake things up in Cork on Friday night.
Ward might well opt with the Birmingham midfielder however, she was full of praise for Quinn after that Netherlands match. When The Halfway Line asked her about the call at the time, Ward replied,
“Lucy started all but one of the Nations League games actually” Ward said.
“Tremendous off the ball, disciplined, experienced, good player, plays in the middle at times for Birmingham. So it was a natural placement.”
It is unlikely that Jessie Stapleton, Ruesha Littlejohn nor Tyler Toland come in for O’Sullivan given Ward’s previous comments on O’Sullivan’s absence. Once again after the Netherlands match she noted,
“They’re [Littlejohn and Toland] both probably in that central role with Meg [Megan Connolly]” Ward explained. “I think the other two, it’s a slightly different role.”
Jess Ziu came off the bench in that Netherlands match with minutes remaining and is a player highly thought of in Irish circles. Ziu has played big role in historic Ireland victories before. With victory over France in Cork in 2024 standing out. Ziu played 90 minutes and helped to dictate play against the European giants. Ziu’s lack of gametime at club level for West Ham though, may work against her.
Aoibheann Clancy is another contender, playing some of the best football of her career at Shelbourne recently. However a start against Netherlands may come too soon. Jamie Finn is also in the frame, having recently been released from her club side Sunderland after a difficult season.
Netherlands strength in depth to be tested
Netherlands will be without several key names too with their midfield particularly effected. Vivianne Miedema and Jill Roord who both started against Ireland in Utrecht are both absent for various reasons. That means Wieke Kaptein is likely to continue alongside Victoria Pelova as more attack minded midfielders. The Chelsea midfielder had a starring role in Netherlands’ vital draw with top seeds France a couple of months ago. Her equaliser ensured that Netherlands remained in control in Group A2 heading into the final matchdays.
Also missing for Netherlands will be Daphne van Domselaar. The Arsenal goalkeeper played both matches against France in April but misses this camp after undergoing surgery on a persistent issue. Spurs’ Lize Kop is likely to be restored to the starting line up after playing the first two matches of the Dutch campaign. Manchester City’s title winning star Kerstin Casparij, who managed more assists than anyone else in the WSL this season has not started for her nation since that 2-2 draw in Poland. Veurink has favoured Brighton’s Marisa Olislagers or Wolfsburg’s Janou Levels and is likely to do so again on Friday night.
Netherlands’ extremely young centre back pairing excelled against France in the last international break. The quality of Chelsea’s Veerle Buurman needs little explanation to anyone who has seen her don Chelsea blue this term. Renee van Asten was more of an unknown quantity coming into those matches however. The Ajax defender scored against France on her debut, helping Netherlands to victory on the night. With Dominique Janssen now back fit and available, it will be interesting to see if she retains her place in the starting eleven.
Much like France, Netherlands’ main threat comes from the wings. FC Barcelona starlet Esmee Brugts plays at left back for her club but is often found further forward for her nation. Brugts scored the winner against France in Netherlands, assisted the equaliser in France and assisted the winner against Ireland. The scorer of that winner, Lineth Beerensteyn is a name that will send shivers down the spine of any Irish fan that was in Utrecht earlier this year. Her pace and guile gave Aoife Mannion and the Irish defence all kinds of issues and her brace eventually swung the result in the Dutch side’s favour.
The Páirc Uí Chaoimh effect
Ireland will take great confidence from recent impressive results in Cork. A 1-0 victory against Slovenia last year avenged a 4-0 defeat in Koper. That came after Ireland had also dispatched with France 3-1 in UEFA EURO 2025 qualifying at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Both Katie McCabe and Carla Ward were full of praise for the Cork crowd on Thursday and more than 10,000 tickets have already been sold for Friday night. Potential pitch size adjustments may also come into play as they did against France at Tallaght Stadium to good effect. That is likely to be with the intention to clip the wings of the flying Dutchwomen out wide.
Ireland are likely to look to start fast and force mistakes from the Netherlands in unfamiliar and hostile surroundings. Both sides are susceptible to the counter attack and that will likely make for an entertaining encounter. A Katie McCabe, perhaps with a point to prove after all the talk since her move to Chelsea was confirmed, could also mean trouble for the Netherlands. No player has scored more goals in League A Group 2 than McCabe, who scored three in three to open up the campaign.
Predicted line ups
IRL: Brosnan; McCabe, Mustaki, Hayes, Patten, Mannion; Connolly, Sheva, Ziu; Carusa, Larkin
NED: Kop; Wilms, Janssen, Buurman, Olislagers; Damaris, Pelova, Kaptein; Brugts, Beerensteyn, Leuchter
Predicted result
Ireland 1-1 Netherlands
You can still purchase tickets for Ireland vs Netherlands tomorrow night, which kicks off at 19:30pm.
