EURO 2025 qualifier preview: England -v- Republic of Ireland

England

"That was a very important victory [against France], and necessary. What we proved to ourselves, again, is that we can play at the highest level and play very well" - Sarina Wiegman.

In a week where the English Lions have clawed one step closer to emulating the Lionesses' Euro success, the 2022 champions welcome Eileen Gleeson's girls in green to Carrow Road on Friday night.

Having picked up seven points in their first four fixtures, the Lionesses snarl just off Sweden’s shoulder in 3rd place due to goal differential and are at risk of missing out on automatic qualification despite having beaten A3 group leaders France in June.

Wiegman's side shared the spoils in their opening home game against Sweden and secured a 2-0 win over Ireland, before losing 2-1 at home to Les Bleues at the end of May.

The European champions ultimately rallied and showed their mettle, edging out France just four days later at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to record a narrow 2-1 victory thanks to two first-half goals from Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo.

Qualification now remains in the Lionesses' hands as two wins will see them through.

Lest England require any further incentive to pick up the full complement of points this Friday, if the Lionesses beat the Republic of Ireland and Sweden lose to France, then a draw in Gothenburg will also book Wiegman’s side a spot in Switzerland.

Despite withdrawing minutes into her 50th England appearance in late May, PSG’s latest signing Mary Earps is fit to battle Man City’s Hannah Hampton for what has become a competitive contest between the sticks.

Hampton is one of several City players to get the call-up with Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Khiara Keating, Chloe Kelly, Esme Morgan, and Jess Park all selected as part of a 28-player squad (which includes four on standby).

While the return of Chelsea’s Niamh Charles will be a welcome bonus for the Lionesses, Wiegman has warned that Charles will only be fit for one fixture.

Lauren James’ absence is, once again, a real blow for Wiegman. James scored in England’s win over Ireland in April and provided an assist in their draw with Sweden in April.

England are far from short on attacking threats, however, with former Everton loanee Aggie Beever-Jones scoring in the behind-closed-doors draw against the Netherlands last Thursday.

The 20-year-old is a real natural talent and may be utilised by Wiegman to thread through the Irish rampart.

Arsenal’s Beth Mead has also returned to form for both club and country following her ACL injury. Mead scored in England’s defeat to France this campaign and has netted 33 goals in 57 appearances for the Lionesses. In addition, she provided the assist for Beever’s goal last week.

Up front, Mead is likely to partner with fellow Gunner teammate Russo, who is known for rifling the ball into the back of the net.

Speaking about England’s upcoming fixture against the Republic of Ireland, Russo opined that the game would "definitely not be an easy test."

She said: "When you meet teams twice in a short space of time, you take things from the games that you want to work on or do better.

"Although things might change from game to game, principles often stay the same.

"It's good to have those games, review them, reflect on them as a team and put new things into practice going forward.”

Republic of Ireland

"Football and wider society need to be a safe place for women. We’re in a football environment; it needs to be safe for everybody. To hear these girls’ alleged experiences, it’s deeply upsetting. It’s sad, but it’s time to be better" -Eileen Gleeson.

If ever the Ireland WNT needed their captain, it's now.

The women in green travel to Norwich in the wake of a joint investigation undertaken by RTE and The Sunday Independent, which revealed sexual advances, sexual abuse and bullying by several male coaches towards women involved in Irish football in the 1990s.

“It has obviously been a dark week, really difficult,” Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion confided to the media this afternoon in the absence of her suspended skipper.

“Even though we switch our focus to the game, this topic of safeguarding and historical abuse isn’t going to go away any time soon and it is going to be part of the conversation, and it should be,” she added.

In a surprising move, the FAI announced Heimir Hallgrímsson as the new senior men’s manager this week.

Former FAI Head of Women’s and Girls' Football Gleeson was asked for her take on the timing of the announcement.

“For us, we’re trying to minimise distractions this week,” she said.

“It’s been a dark week with the revelations and the players have had to deal with that as players, as women, and me as a coach, as a woman. We’ve been trying to deal with that and support the players around that, but drag focus to the games.”

The Girls in Green will most certainly need to be laser-focused if they are to punch their ticket to next summer's tournament in Switzerland.

Ireland have lost all four of their qualifying fixtures despite an impressive second half against England at the Aviva, where they pinned the Lionesses to their collar, and a belter of a battle in Sweden last month, when a point was stolen at the death by Magdalena Eriksson's 84th-minute winner.

Ireland, winless in six matches and without a goal since their 6-1 thrashing of Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, are undoubtedly the underdogs for this clash in England’s medieval city.

All hope is not lost, however.

Gleeson has at her disposal a number of key and talented players who will look to strut their stuff in anticipation of the playoffs.

Leanne Kiernan and Crystal Palace’s Abbie Larkin are two up-and-coming young stars across the water, with Larkin set to make her Women’s Super League debut for Palace in October following their Championship glory and Kiernan now a regular feature in Liverpool's side.

Galway United’s Julie-Ann Russell (who has 60 international caps to her credit) has lit up the pitch for the women in maroon this campaign and could also make a real difference in the final third were she selected to start.

Caitlin Hayes alongside Louise Quinn (who will move into second place on the all-time WNT appearances list should she feature in this game – currently on 119 caps) has represented the badge with class to date at the back and will need to be at her best to stop the fluidity of the English attack.

And Courtney Brosnan. A credit to our country as she dives, blocks and jumps from her goal line.

Like the brave women who spoke out this week, Ireland’s modern-day girls in green need to back themselves.

The time for courage is now.

IRELAND WNT SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses), Sophie Whitehouse (Lewes)

Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Caitlin Hayes (Celtic), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses)

Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Bristol City), Lily Agg (Birmingham City), Ruesha Littlejohn (London City Lionesses), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Jess Ziu (West Ham United), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace), Eva Mangan (Cork City), Julie-Ann Russell (Galway United)

Forwards: Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Emily Murphy (Wake Forest University), Marissa Sheva (Portland Thorns)

Referee: Catarina Campos (Portugal)

MATCH STATS

02/05/1978 | England 6-1 Ireland | St James’s Park, Exeter | Friendly

02/05/1981 | Ireland 0-5 England | Dalymount Park | Friendly

07/11/1982 | Ireland 0-1 England | Dalymount Park | EURO 1984 Qualifier

11/09/1983 | England 6-0 Ireland | Elm Park, Reading | EURO 1984 Qualifier

22/09/1985 | Ireland 0-6 England | Flower Lodge, Cork | EURO 1987 Qualifier

27/04/1986 | England 4-0 Ireland | Elm Park, Reading | EURO 1987 Qualifier

29/03/1987 | Ireland 0-1 England | Dalymount Park | Friendly

09/04/2024 | Ireland 0-2 England | Aviva Stadium | EURO 2025 Qualifier

PREDICTION

England 1-1 Ireland

England

Injured: Lauren James, Lotte Wubben-Moy, and Kayla Rendell

Doubtful: Niamh Charles (calf)

Suspended: N/A

Ireland

Injured: Chloe Mustaki, Heather Payne, Tara O'Hanlon, Jamie Finn, and Kyra Carusa

Doubtful: N/A

Suspended: N/A