Nations League: Republic of Ireland v Turkey, Tallaght Stadium, Friday, 7.30 – Live on RTÉ 2
A month on from her appointment as Eileen Gleeson’s successor, Carla Ward will get her reign as Republic of Ireland head coach under way against Turkey in Tallaght on Friday evening in the opening game of the team’s Nations League campaign.
There was plenty of talk of a “fresh start” from her players this week, all of them eager to bury the memory of December’s Euro 2025 qualifying defeat to Wales, and against a side ranked 35 places below them in the Fifa list, they’ll expect to mark Ward’s bow with a victory.
Captain Katie McCabe is no stranger to changes in management. Since she made her senior Irish debut 10 years ago next month she has played under Sue Ronan, Colin Bell, Vera Pauw, Gleeson and now Ward.
Before turning her focus to the new era, though, she paid tribute to Gleeson and her assistant Colin Healy on Thursday, describing their departures from their roles as “a shock”.
“A lot of the girls were surprised, from the point of view of how well we got on, the connection and the good environment they created. I want to say a big thanks to Eileen and Colin for everything they’ve done. They brought in a real energy and freshness to the team. We created unbelievable, special moments together – we went on a really nice run in the Nations League and got a massive result down in Cork against France.”
“Unfortunately we didn’t qualify for the Euros and the FAI made a decision off the back of that, so we need to look forward now, towards how we’re going to qualify for the 2027 World Cup. That starts on Friday night with our new manager in place.”
While Denise O’Sullivan has lambasted the FAI for their dealings with Healy, views echoed by Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley this week after the Corkman claimed he had been given him a “verbal assurance” that he would be retained by the association, McCabe was eager to move on.
“We dealt with it as a team and as individuals when we got the news back in December. So much has gone on since then, but when we’re coming into camp our full focus is on what we’re doing here and we don’t really pay attention to what’s going on outside. Everyone has their own opinions on what happened, and we need to respect that for sure, but ultimately our full focus is on Friday night.”
McCabe described that defeat by Wales as “devastating”, one that left her “in a really low place”. “Some of the best feelings I’ve had in my life have been on a football pitch. That day in the Aviva was definitely one of the worst. What we do on the pitch matters for women’s football in Ireland and the future of grassroots football. So yeah, it was devastating.”
Leanne Kiernan has been ruled out of the game with a calf injury, although Ward hasn’t given up on the Liverpool striker being fit for Tuesday’s game away to Slovenia. She admitted she left several players disappointed by not including them in her first squad, but suggested there would be new faces come April for the home and away games against Greece.
She was impressed by what she saw in Wednesday’s game between the Irish under-19s and a development squad, “the amount of quality coming through is really exciting”, she said. “There are quite a few that I liked, and one or two in particular need to get involved early [with the senior squad] so they’re put in positions that stress them. It’s important that we try to do that as early as possible.”
Ward vowed there would be “no rustiness” on her part, despite this being her first game as head coach since she stepped down as Aston Villa manager in May of last year. “The moment the balls were rolling the other day, I couldn’t wait to get out with the players. I’m very passionate about what I do. So, no rustiness, I’m sure. You’ll hear me.”
Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell and Julie-Ann Russell, who all announced their international retirements in the aftermath of the Wales defeat, will be presented to the crowd at half-time in the game. “It is important that we pay tribute to these three legends,” said Ward. ”We hope our fans will come out in force to help honour them and also support the current team.”
