International Friendly Preview: Republic of Ireland -v- Denmark

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Preparation for another World Cup qualifying campaign begins for the Ireland WNT this evening as they take on Denmark in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium (kick-off 6.30pm).

Having put themselves into a strong position with just two games remaining in the recent Euro qualifiers it ended in disappointing fashion. A narrow 1-0 loss to Ukraine preceded a  3-1 defeat to powerhouses Germany ending Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for a first major tournament.

Since then Ireland have been boosted by the news that manager Vera Pauw is to remain with the side for a further two years having agreed an extension in February.

Despite missing out on the ultimate goal of qualification for Euro 2021, Pauw is confident from the encouraging performances throughout the group that Ireland can take that next step soon enough and qualify for a major tournament for the first time.

“I believe that we have a special group of players with the required desire to become the first Ireland’s women’s senior team to qualify for a major tournament and I’m very excited that I will continue to be a part of that” said Pauw.

The qualifying draw for the 2023 World Cup takes place on April 30th when Ireland will learn of what lies ahead if they are to achieve that ultimate goal of qualification. Matches are then set to kick off in September.

Pauw recognises the quality that her side will face in the coming days but believes in terms of preparation and to see where her players are at it is the perfect type of battle to engage in.

Both upcoming friendly opponents have qualified for the Euro’s with impressive group campaigns and impressively occupy 14th and 17th place in the World rankings.

“Denmark are a fantastic opponent for us to play in this international friendly game” spoke Pauw as she looked ahead to the match week.

“They are ranked 14th in the world, possess some excellent players, and are very much a team that will test us. We need this type of work-out to help us going into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers later in the year. 

“For us, this is another game to test ourselves against a top quality opponent. It will actually be my first friendly game since coming in with Ireland and we hope to take a closer look at all our players in this game and next Sunday’s game away to Belgium.”

DENMARK

Denmark have the European Championships to look forward to after an unbeaten qualifying campaign consisting of nine wins and a draw.

They currently sit 14th in the World Rankings and will pose a tough challenge to this Ireland side this evening.

Manager Lars Sondergaard has Chelsea star Pernille Harder in his squad for the trip to Dublin and will be hoping some magic from his star player can help his side register another win on their journey to the Euros.

Harder was named UEFA Player of the year twice in the last three years and her countries Player of the Year for the last five years in a row.

She was on the scoresheet last week as Chelsea booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a win over Wolfsburg.

Referee: Louise Thompson (Northern Ireland)

MATCH STATS

These two sides have come across each other just once before during the Algarve Cup in 2006. A game which Denmark won 4-0.

This will be Vera Pauw’s first friendly as Ireland manager

Denmark currently rank 14th in the World Rankings with Ireland occupying 31st place.

PREDICTION

Ireland 1-2 Denmark

Cork City winger Dylan McGlade: 'From my experience it looks like it's going to be one of the strongest divisions' https://t.co/auUNe57nDcpic.twitter.com/91Xlp4WfPy

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) April 8, 2021