WE CAN DO SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL
New boss will take us higher, says McCabe
K ATIE McCabe was getting on a plane when she discovered that Eileen Gleeson had been made
permanent head coach. ‘I was flying. I was leaving the country! I heard you had become the manager, so I was leaving!’ the Ireland captain said with a smile as she sat alongside Gleeson at yesterday’s press conference.
The light-hearted exchange typified the buzz around the Ireland camp. On a number of occasions yesterday, McCabe used the word ‘refreshing’ to convey the mood within the camp.
‘Over the course of the Nations League, I think Eileen and her whole backroom staff, they were just a breath of fresh air and something different. And you could see how we were enjoying that because we were able to express ourselves on the pitch. She absolutely deserved it and it is a fantastic appointment in my opinion and I think the FAI got it spot-on in terms of who should take this forward in order to qualify for the Euros. I feel we’ve got the ingredients to do something really special as a team.’
Given the Irish skipper can be guarded and quite measured sometimes with her words, this was quite the ringing endorsement of the head coach. And it also illustrates the confidence coursing through the squad that they are continuing to go in the right direction.
One of the most encouraging aspects of last Friday’s performance in Florence was how Ireland were able to cope, despite a number of injuries, especially in midfield. Jess Stapleton, nominally a defender, deputising for Tyler Toland as the sitting midfielder and Jess Ziu marking her return after 17 months out with a typically energetic display on the wing, was evidence of the depth that now exists in the squad.
And that Ireland held their own against a talented Italian side, who beat world champions Spain 3-2 in December, only deepens the belief of the players that they belong on the biggest stage among Europe’s elite.
‘I didn’t feel like we were out of place,’ McCabe said. ‘Of course, Italy had chances at times and we will need to look at being a bit more clinical in the final third and making teams defend more. But we are not going to get everything right in the first game of changing formation. There is stuff to improve, but it has been really enjoyable and really refreshing.’
Wales had safely made it over to Dublin by the time that the FAW (Football Association of Wales) had announced former England assistant manager Rhian Wilkinson as its new head coach last night. Jon Grey, an academy coach with Swansea City, had taken interim charge and even selected the squad for this friendly.
Unlike Gleeson when she was interim boss, Grey ensured there was no grey area when asked if he
wanted the job. However, the FAW was looking further afield to fill the boots of Gemma Grainger who left the post to take over Norway last month. Wilkinson arrives in Wales with a substantial pedigree, having played 183 times for her native Canada before becoming assistant coach for her national team at the 2019 FIFA World Cup. She was also assistant manager to Hege Riise with England for the Tokyo Olympics, before leading Portland Thorns to a NWSL title in 2022, in her first season in charge. However, her time in Portland ended under a cloud as she resigned following a NWSL investigation into her relationship with a player. She was cleared of all charges but stepped down as she felt she had lost the dressing-room.
She will take over Wales at an interesting stage of their development and in many ways, this team mirrors where Ireland were before the last World Cup qualifying campaigns. Veterans, and familiar
figures, like Chelsea’s Sophie Ingle and the Seattle Reign duo of Jess Fishlock and Angharad James probably view this Euro 2025 campaign as their last chance of making a major tournament.
The team had made massive strides under Grainger, but just fell short of making a major championship, a late Switzerland goal in the play-offs denied them a place in last summer’s World Cup alongside Ireland. Ingle, Fishlock and James are all centurions now and eager to make the big stage in the twilight of their career.
It will be the 21st time these nations have met, with Ireland having a clear upper hand. Wales have only won two of the previous 20 games, the last being a Euro 2013 qualifier in Turner’s Cross while Ireland have won 12, including the first meeting between the sides in Llanelli in May 1973. There have been six draws.
For most of that long history, Ireland and Wales have met as pretty much equals. But with one team promoted, as another was relegated, from the Nations League last December, the sense is of two teams going in opposite directions. Certainly with Ireland, the feeling is that the graph is still going in an upward trajectory.
The injection of youthful energy in Friday’s side in the likes of Ziu, Stapleton and Izzy Atkinson bodes well. As does the aggressive press that the side deployed at times — and the way that the defence maintained their shape as well as their line — as the Italians probed for openings.
ADAPTABILITY was the key theme that Gleeson kept returning to yesterday. For all the strides they made under the previous manager, there was a certain predictability to how Ireland would set up. The new boss seems intent on keeping opponents guessing as to what style the team will play. All of which is encouraging.
We might see Leanne Kiernan start this evening after her promising cameo on Friday evening, while Louise Quinn should return from the shoulder injury that broke her run of 22 consecutive games at the heart of the Irish defence.
As ever, a lot of eyes will be on where the Ireland captain is deployed. Having enjoyed herself as the supporting attacker for a lot of the Nations League, she may have reverted to left-back given that the prospect of Spain or England might loom in this team’s future. But she might be given more freedom to roam forward this evening and thrill supporters in Tallaght.
For that alone, let’s hope that all the seats in the stadium are filled.