Joanne O’Riordan: What lies in wait for us in the Group of Death?

It’s just under a week until Ireland makes football history as the women’s national team makes its debut at the Fifa Women’s World Cup. I get questions and comments about Group B now on a daily basis, effectively the Group of Death from an Irish perspective. We have the co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada and, of course, Nigeria, who, realistically, might offer us a shot at getting points. But more on that later.

First up is Australia, the Sam Kerr-led, nation-inspiring and ceiling-shattering Matildas in a sold-out 82,500-seated stadium in Sydney. Truthfully, the pressure is on Australia to perform. Viewers of the Matilda’s docuseries on Disney+ would know that this team has probably underachieved given the plethora of talent at their disposal.

Opposite Vera on the sidelines is Tony Gustavsson, a Swede who wants Australia to be more than “Sam Kerr’s team” and worked alongside Jill Ellis in the USA’s double World Cup victory in 2015 and 2019.

The first few years together were rocky. Defensive frailties and reliance on Kerr led to a bizarre string of results. Australia came fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, losing in the bronze medal match to the USA. Their worst defeat under Tony came in Huelva when a significantly depleted Spain beat an incredibly inexperienced Australia 7-0. Australia were incredibly bad for a while, even getting knocked out early from the Asian Cup, where they were the favourites to win. But they appear to be building towards something better.

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They are coming into the tournament in form, winning eight of their last nine games and beating Sweden, England and Spain along the way. Sam Kerr is naturally the player to look out for, Australia’s record goalscorer with 63 goals to her name. But don’t forget Ellie Carpenter, Alannah Kennedy and Cortnee Vine along the way. Those three players will cause severe problems to our back line, and will likely thwart any ambition of seeing our wingbacks stretch their legs up the field.

Next up is Canada, who are technically playing under protest due to lack of equal treatment from their federation. On top of that Canada Soccer is looking into filing for bankruptcy, but despite it all the culture in the Canadian dressingroom is to win at all costs for their veterans – Sophie Schmidt and Desiree Scott in midfield, and up top 40-year-old Christine Sinclair, who has announced her international retirement after the World Cup.

Coach Bev Priestman will undoubtedly throw everything and the kitchen sink to ensure her team goes far in the tournament. Also, watch out for defensive superstar Jade Rose alongside self-proclaimed Mario Kart champion Vanessa Giles.

Nigeria, or the Super Falcons, are the last opponents Ireland will face in the group. Nigeria arrive under enormous pressure after losing WAFCON to Equatorial Guinea and being underwhelming throughout their friendlies.

This is where it gets interesting. Nigeria are also threatening to boycott their first group game against Canada due to unpaid bonuses and the fact that their federation has not invested in the team. Tensions remain between head coach Randy Waldrum and the federation after he claimed he was pressured into picking players at the federation’s request. It’s also claimed he denied media access to the team, and on top of that he’s one of few coaches working part-time while also having limited experience in coaching.

But on the field Nigeria can be a force. Their attacking threats are enough to test the most robust of defences, with FC Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala, Atlético Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Saint-Étienne’s Esther Okoronkwo. Oshoala is coming into this tournament in form, winning most of the trophies available to Barça Femeni, with her speed, agility and ability to split defences with her off-the-shoulder running. Add to that Deborah Abiodun can now provide that creative spark that has evaded Nigeria for the last couple of World Cups.

So that’s the group of death. Can we get out of it? Have we any chance whatsoever? It might get ugly in terms of our defensive structures and could be a long few days, but Ireland can catch these teams out. Opportunities will arise if Ireland manage to get their ball players playing fluidly through the lines. The French loss will stand to Ireland in terms of how top teams play and manage games. Time to put those learnings into practice for women’s football’s biggest tournament.