World Cup Group B: Australia v Republic of Ireland, Stadium Australia, Thursday, 11am Irish time (Live RTÉ 2)
Key information on day one of the Women’s World Cup. Denise O’Sullivan is fit. Katie McCabe is primed for the game of her life. Courtney Brosnan will clock a few Sam Kerr clips on the bus journey to the place where Sonia O’Sullivan made the country swoon in 2000.
History-makers chasing a heroine from yesteryear. Such symmetry is rare.
Ireland must not be distracted by external noise. Or the internal din as a gigantic, sports-obsessed nation has them in their sights.
Some housekeeping. The redeveloped Olympic ground will hold 75,000 on this seminal morning for Irish sport, not the previously billed 83,500.
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Take a second to remember how Ireland landed at this special moment. Drawing 0-0 with the Dutch in Nijmegen after the Liberty Hall fiasco in 2017 felt like the beginning. The Kyiv nightmare was followed by ear-piercing Tallaght nights before the beautiful silence of Helsinki and Gothenburg stadiums during qualification.
All of it gets washed away as Ireland return to Sydney’s Olympic monument.
Gold or silver, win, lose or draw, just don’t concede before half-time. Louise Quinn and Niamh Fahey will pass Kerr between them, the two veterans charged with keeping the Chelsea goal-machine in check.
After the runaround with Colombia last Friday comes an event to stand the rest of time. A World Cup like no other. And not just for the Irish women. Sydney is alive to the tune of elite women’s football.
The locals have not known such giddiness since Cathy Freeman donned her Lycra superhero costume and set fire to the asphalt 23 years ago.
Aussies are a noisy bunch at the best of times – must be all that Irish blood – but think back to 112,000 piercing screams on September 25th, 2000 as Freeman, an Aboriginal daughter, propelled herself around this very venue in 49.11 seconds.
Sonia captured silver on the same night. This must be the place.
“For years to come this will be talked about, decades to come,” said Kerr at the pre-tournament press conference.
Do Australia need to win the tournament for it to be considered a success? “Everyone is here to win but the legacy will not be defined by that. We are really confident. Ireland is our final at this point.
“It’s okay to feel nervous, it’s okay to be overawed by the crowd. We just have to stay in the moment. We are more looking forward to it. It is better they are cheering you on than booing you.”
For the Matildas, Olympic gold can be matched by World Cup glory. The team rewatched Freeman’s magical sprint last week, as the 50-year-old crept into the room on her single crutch (perhaps borrowed from Denise O’Sullivan, who no longer needs it).
“When they turned the lights on, we turned around and there she was,” said veteran midfielder Aivi Luik, a teenager when Aussie and Irish women ruled the athletics world. “We had a chat to her and talked about how she dealt with pressures because, obviously, she had the weight of the nation on her shoulders. And she was just one – we’re a whole team, so we’re quite lucky in that regard.”
O’Sullivan’s medal changed women’s sport in Ireland forever. Just like McCabe promised this match would send interest in soccer skyrocketing. The harmony is comforting because Australia are, all ends up, a superior side. Even their bench possesses perhaps the greatest Irish footballer we’ll never know, as Mary Fowler’s grandfather hails from Ballymun.
Ireland must hold pace, nothing more. The 3-2 defeat of Australia in September 2021 narrowed the focus for McCabe’s team. It halted a losing streak at seven games, banishing the Euros stumble in Ukraine a year previously while denying Kerr her 50th intentional goal on cap 100. But the 29-year-old is relentless, scoring 14 in 12 caps since.
The Irish are billed as a roadblock. Fodder to be overwhelmed once the anthems are sung on a golden night. Or perhaps a silver morning.
The game plan is questionable. Arguably too conservative. McCabe plays full back, as does Heather Payne. This gifted pair will be remembered for many feats in a green shirt. Defending is not one of them.
The Irish-Americans simply cannot go missing. Sinead Farrelly’s silky touch can create opportunities for Kyra Carusa and Marissa Sheva. If the ball sticks to them.
O’Sullivan needs Ruesha Littlejohn to hunt and harry. A Glaswegian in green is always a comforting sight.
If Ireland feel stuck together, a construct, the Aussies play in liquid form.
Vera Pauw was asked recently: how does this team score from open play? A Quinn headed goal from a Megan Connolly corner is too obvious. McCabe blasted the English Women’s Super League goal of the season by sliding off the right wing for Arsenal and letting fly. The captain cannot do that when pinned down at left back.
If the Matildas’ score early, a boisterous crowd can demand three, four goals. The Irish defence will struggle to contain Kerr and Caitlin Foord, and Fowler off the bench.
The evidence is stacked heavily in favour of an Australia victory. Ireland can be, must be, competitive. Batten down the hatches.
[ Karen Duggan: What Ireland can expect, and the teams to watch out forOpens in new window ]
AUSTRALIA (possible): Mackenzie Arnold; Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Steph Catley; Hayley Raso, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Cortnee Vine; Caitlin Foord, Sam Kerr (capt).
IRELAND (possible): Courtney Brosnan; Heather Payne, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Megan Connolly, Katie McCabe; Denise O’Sullivan, Ruesha Littlejohn; Sinead Farrelly, Marissa Sheva; Kyra Carusa.
Referee: Edina Alvez (Brazil).
