The Republic of Ireland will have to overcome a familiar foe to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next summer.
Carla Ward’s team have been drawn against minnows Kazakhstan in a playoff semi-final to be played over two legs, most likely on October 7th and October 13th, with the winner from Belgium versus Poland waiting in a two-legged final that is set for November 26th and December 5th.
The FAI have until next Friday (June 26th) to confirm the venue for the second leg against Kazakhstan. Tallaght Stadium is the likely destination with a move to the Aviva for the December decider despite calls for a return to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, where Amber Barrett’s 90th-minute goal secured a brilliant 3-2 victory over the Netherlands earlier this month.
A chartered flight to the Kazakhstan capital Astana will take around eight hours before the Irish players have to grapple with a five-hour time difference.
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“Kazakhstan have to come back with us to Dublin or Cork,” noted Ireland manager Ward.
The association do not have to make a decision on the second-leg venue against Belgium or Poland until October but Ward was keen to return to the home of Cork GAA.
“You don’t have to ask me twice about Cork, I absolutely love it down there, and I think the players do too.
“It’s not been confirmed where we’ll play. Of course, we would love to have one in Dublin and one in Cork. I think that would be the ultimate dream.”
If Ireland progress past the country ranked 100th in the world, they will face familiar star quality in Polish striker Ewa Pajor, who scored 11 goals for Barcelona in 10 Champions League matches this season, or the equally prolific Belgian veteran Tessa Wullaert.
The Inter Milan forward registered 14 goals and nine assists in Serie A this season and she scored three times against Ireland over two matches last October.
But it was Abbie Larkin’s 90th-minute strike in Leuven that secured a 5-4 aggregate win over Belgium to keep Ireland in Nations League A.
Belgium retained their ranking of 18th in the world – Ireland are 21st – by finishing level on points with Scotland in Group B4, only missing top spot on goal difference.
In April, Ireland beat Poland home and away with outstanding displays from Katie McCabe, Denise O’Sullivan and Emily Murphy, along with two goals by Marissa Sheva to ensure a seeded playoff draw after finishing third in Group A2 behind France and the Netherlands.
“We’re a good side, aren’t we?” said Ward. “Quite a lot of teams were saying, ‘We don’t want yourselves’. That’s a credit to everybody; staff and players for all the work that’s gone in.
“Some of the big teams were probably underestimating us in this campaign and that gave us the added edge. I think there’ll be less underestimating, that’s for sure.”
Seven European nations will progress through the playoffs to join Spain, France, Denmark, and Germany at a tournament that takes place across eight Brazilian cities from June 24th next year.
The eighth-ranked European side that comes through the playoffs will be rerouted to an inter-confederation playoff in February 2027.
European champions England should breeze through their semi-final against Greece before facing the winner from Slovakia and Ukraine. Wales must overcome Albania and either Romania or Norway, while Scotland were drawn against the Czech Republic, with Lithuania or Sweden waiting in a playoff final. Northern Ireland got a tough draw against Portugal before having to beat Croatia or Iceland.
