Vera Pauw pleased as play-off final round secured after ‘ugly’ win over Slovakia

Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win in Slovakia – thanks to Denise O’Sullivan’s 18^th international goal – saw the Girls in Green secure a route directly into the UEFA play-off finals for the World Cup, skipping the first round.

Ireland boss Vera Pauw was still all smiles after a match despite the describing the game as ‘ugly’ and she was not happy with the ‘nasty’ approach taken by Slovakia.

The Dutch woman was delighted with how her team prevailed showing how her players could dig in and grind out a result, one that means they skip the first round of the UEFA play-offs.

“It is unbelievable how this team is growing because tonight it was not nice,” said Pauw speaking to RTÉ after the final whistle in Senec. 

“There was not a lot of good football and it was not our best game but you could see that these tigers can fight for a win.

“The opponent was at times a bit nasty. I said that this is an ugly game but who cares? It is about three points, winning and going to the second play-off round, skipping the first play-off round.”

The draw for the play-offs takes place on Friday lunchtime and Ireland will be drawn straight into the play-off final round in what is quite the complicated system.

“It is very strange,” said Pauw about the play-off system. “I don't think they will do it again. Everybody is talking about it and it doesn't make sense.”

For the full details of the play-offs, see our explainer:

Explainer: Ireland’s updated route to the World Cup as play-off final position secured with win over Slovakia https://t.co/Kdatow0tJBpic.twitter.com/Xr1TBXWa4y

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) September 6, 2022