Eileen Gleeson was playing it straight after a 1-1 result in Cardiff, until the last moment of her post-match press conference, when the Republic of Ireland manager spoke about the magnitude of Tuesday’s Euro 2025 play-off second-leg at the Aviva Stadium.
“I don’t feel [the pressure] is on our shoulders, I feel like it is in our soul, this is our home,” said Gleeson.
“We love playing in the Aviva. We love the crowd. It is magical. You walk out, they sing. There is nothing like being at home in Ireland.
“For us, we are coming home. We are trying to inspire the nation and do the nation proud. That’s nothing but a boost. We are a passionate country. We have lot of pride in this team.”
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Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson, in contrast, was openly frustrated with how Ireland went about securing the draw.
“We are really looking forward to Dublin and making history in their home,” said Wilkinson. “It won’t be different from them, but it has to be different from us.
“We cannot get caught up in that, it turned into a tennis match. They got their draw.
“I know we have another level in us.”
Fighting talk. The managers were clearly on different wavelengths in the aftermath of an uncompromising match that Italian referee Maria Caputi allowed to flow.
“Ireland can take care of themselves,” said Wilkinson, who won 181 caps for Canada. “I am not sure what they are going to do. My problem is my team.
“We’ll match the energy we showed tonight and then we will get on the ball and play.”
In Dublin, like Cardiff, the tactical contest on the sideline is guaranteed to be matched by a physical battle on the pitch. With neither country ever qualifying for the Euros, Tuesday is guaranteed to be a compelling spectacle.
“Even if there are tactical changes, Ireland has a pretty clear style of play,” said Wilkinson. “They’ve got wonderful athletes. They have got good runners. They got some top players on their team.
“I don’t expect to see anything different from what they are trying to achieve.”
Gleeson agreed, when she whittled the contest down to the first principles of football. Winning second balls.
“We have to tidy up in some areas,” Gleeson said. “Wales won a lot of first and second balls. We need to tidy up decision making in how we build from the back.
“We had smaller players against big physical players for the first ball, but the second ball we should be pick it up quicker. We definitely want to improve on our decisions in the attacking third. Our press was a little off, we were pressing in the wrong area.
“Overall, I am happy to be coming away in a good place and going back to our home.”
Wilkinson is not the type of person to shy away from an Aviva Stadium that is approaching 25,000 tickets sold.
“I love it. I don’t care if it’s home or away. When you’ve got a great crowd, and we will have a great crowd in Dublin, and I’d like to congratulate Ireland as well because the legacy piece these women are leaving is something phenomenal.
“No matter who goes through at the end, the game will be winning because the women’s game is growing and it’s growing with real purpose. I’m not worried about my team being overwhelmed by the occasion because the nerves have happened. The first game has happened. We have one game in front of us and it’s all square. So what’s to lose? We step forward, we go towards it.”
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