2023 Women’s World Cup: Ireland showed it belongs on the world stage

With a 2-0 defeat to Canada in the second Group B contest, the Republic of Ireland were officially eliminated from the World Cup, but that does not tell the whole story. 

In its first-ever Women’s World Cup appearance, the Republic of Ireland sent a message to the world.

Irish women’s football belongs on this stage.

From the moment Amber Barrett found the back of the net against Scotland, Ireland was considered an underdog. These players embraced that. This was the first team in a country that’s national sport is hurling to make a World Cup on either the men’s or women’s side since 2002. The girls in green were one of 10 UEFA teams to have conceded less than five goals during the World Cup qualifying group stage.

In only a few matches down under, the entire world can see why this was the side to put a conclusion to that streak.

Experience means a lot in football, especially on a stage like the World Cup. Ireland simply does not have that at this moment in time. Australia has made it into the pack at every Women’s World Cup instead of the first one. Canada, the defending gold medalists have that same past as The Matildas.

Captained by Katie McCabe, and numerous gritty players like North Carolina Courage’s Denise O’Sullivan, the Irish battled top-10 ranked sides to one-goal score lines. There was no tougher draw in this year’s competition than Group B. If the Irish were placed in almost any other group, their conclusion to their World Cup journey could have had a completely different ending.

Maybe in four years, luck will be with the Irish because this time it clearly wasn’t. They are one of four teams through two matches with over 25 tackles won. McCabe and O’Sullivan combined for nine of those. This team just needed little more of an offensive threat.

The grit, and the physicality where there. That moment of magic or threat in the final third simply wasn’t consistent. Maybe there needs to be a system change, or even the dismissal of the manager. Other than that, the bones of a strong team are present.

Either way, this team has set a new precedent for women’s football in Ireland. Like most women’s national teams, the road to reach success is one that features numerous struggles along the way. The girls in green are no different. In 2017, the team boycotted a home match against Slovakia. Their reasoning, they were forced to change out of their shared tracksuits in an airport bathroom.

Six years later, the nation was in the most prestigious tournament in all of world football. Irish girls around the country now have a reason to believe. Few will score more impressive goals than Ireland did in its first appearance in front of the world. Against arguably the best goalkeeper in the world Kailen Sheridan, McCabe curled her corner into the back of the net. That is special.

The Republic of Ireland Women’s National World Cup team set the standard for what the future holds for women’s football in their country

The Irish owned the opening 45 minutes against the Olympic champions. Ruesha Littlejohn stepped up in a massive way, and with Heather Payne missing, the effort was ultimately not enough to push this team over the edge.

That knockout second goal was a must with the quality on the Canadian bench. When it didn’t come, the CONCACAF outfit capitalized. For plenty of outsiders, this was the debutant people wanted to see. The record or the statistics does not explain the whole story.

This could be the beginning of an established national team that consistently finds itself in world tournaments.