Former Republic of Ireland international Áine O’Gorman is optimistic about the team’s chances of making it to their first European Championship finals as the Girls in Green continue their qualifying campaign next month.
Having missed out on qualification for Euro 2025 from the group stages, which saw Eileen Gleeson’s team pitted against Sweden, France and England (with the latter two claiming the qualifying spots) – taking one win and five losses – Ireland now head to the playoffs.
The team will first travel to Tbilisi for the first leg against Georgia on October 25th, before hosting the return leg at Tallaght Stadium four days later.
Success over the Georgians would see Ireland take on either Wales or Slovakia in late November/early December. The team that comes out on top after the home and away fixtures will qualify for next year’s tournament in Switzerland.
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“Ireland have come through a really tough group, and I think it will stand to them in the qualification,” said O’Gorman.
“We’ve got a good history against [Georgia], but the girls will be taking it one game at a time.”
Having retired from international soccer after Ireland’s appearance at last year’s World Cup, O’Gorman, who earned 119 caps with the national team, admitted she is still getting used to life on the sidelines.
“I’m really happy with my decision. Retiring after the World Cup, I went out on a high. It was perfect for me to go out the way I did.”
But while she’s “made my peace, I think” with the decision, the Shamrock Rovers captain said when Ireland take to the pitch “I still get those prematch nerves”.
“Sometimes it’s harder to watch, I think, than it is to play. You’re just out of control. But it’s great to see the team develop and do so well, and hopefully that will continue.”
The 35-year-old was speaking as part of the In Her Boots campaign, a programme to be rolled out by the FAI and Aviva to educate parents, coaches and clubs on areas such as nutrition, performance and injury prevention aiming keep young girls in soccer.
The programme was developed in collaboration with members of the Ireland women’s national team set-up – physiotherapist Angela Kenneally, performance coach Ivi Casagrande, and nutritionist Dr Brendan Egan.
Giving the programme her backing, O’Gorman stressed the importance of giving women players the right guidance around health, nutrition and performance from a young age.
“It’s a resource for [parents and coaches] to try and keep girls in sport and looking after women’s health. If you look after these things and you keep people in the game, on the pitch, ultimately it’s going to improve performance and participation levels.”
And the visibility and recent success of the women’s national team also plays its part in driving participation, she said, adding that qualifying for Euro 2025 would help carry on the momentum from the World Cup.
“We have made strides, but we need to continue to work.”
The programme will focus on players aged 9-16, targeting the key early-teenage years when dropout rates among girls in sport rocket. It is a trend seen across codes, and O’Gorman believes joint-up thinking is needed to tackle the issue.
“I think collaboration is key to success in a lot of areas of life and in sport as well.
“If people can bring all their expertise together to keep young girls in sport, no matter what it may be, and if everyone can sing off the same page, the results are going to be great.”
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