Why Ireland's Nations League promotion is a turning point for the Girls in Green

Carla Ward's side return to League A with a point prove

Katie McCabe celebrates with Abbie Larkin. Credit: Getty Images

Late drama, a Katie McCabe screamer and a buzzing Aviva Stadium. Ireland’s Nations League playoff against Belgium had it all.

In the end, Carla Ward’s side ended up claiming a dramatic 5-4 aggregate win across the two-legged tie.

It was closer than Ireland’s head coach would have liked after her team headed into the second-leg with an impressive 4-2 advantage. The game looked destined for extra time when Tessa Wullaert put Belgium 2-0 up in the first half. That was until Ireland’s Abbie Larkin stabbed home in the 90th-minute to pull it back to 2-1 and secure the famous win.

This was no ordinary fixture as it marked a chance for the girls in green to be promoted to League A within the Uefa Nations League and in turn, enter into the main draw for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup qualifiers. That means they will have a chance to automatically qualify for the tournament in Brazil, rather than via a playoff.

Up until this victory, the Irish national team had been on somewhat of a bumpy ride since their failure to qualify for the 2025 Uefa Women’s Euros.

Following a successful 2023 Nations League B Campaign, Ireland were subsequently promoted to League A where they were placed in the so-called “group of death” in early 2024. There, they had to contend with the likes of England, France and Sweden to gain a spot in the Women’s Euros the following year.

After only winning one game within this group against France, Ireland were subjected to an additional round of Euro qualifier play-offs.

Even though they claimed an aggregate 0-9 victory against Georgia, Ireland would fail to beat Wales, last December, losing 3-2 on aggregate and ultimately failing to qualify for the Women’s Euros.

Needless to say, morale was at an all-time low within the Ireland camp when they missed out on the competition.

This result against Belgium has re-energised the Irish team and with their new-found promotion to League A, the girls in green are back to a level that they have not played at since 2024.

Ireland’s promotion against Belgium is even more impressive considering the setbacks they had to contend with, the most significant of which being the absence of Ireland and Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. Having picked up a knee injury, the reins were handed to Sunderland’s Grace Moloney whose last appearance in goal was against Georgia in October 2024.

Elsewhere, Leanne Kiernan, Megan Connolly and Lily Agg were all injured.

Despite these absences, Ireland persevered into League A and by extension, gave themselves the chance of qualifying for another World Cup.

So is this Ireland’s comeback and can they re-live the glory that came with their 2023 Women’s World Cup debut?

If there is anything that their performance in the past two years has shown, it’s not whether Ireland are capable of making it into League A but rather, if they can maintain their place in it.

The last time Ireland were in Nations League A against England, Sweden and France, they were defensively weak, particularly in the centre.

More importantly, Ireland’s team is in a transitional period and has recently seen older, more experienced players such as Louise Quinn, Niamh Fahey and Megan Campbell, retire from football.

Quinn and Fahey were seasoned centre-backs in defence, both having a combined international record of over 200 appearances for their country. Additionally, Campbell became Ireland’s secret weapon with her long throws that even earned her a Guinness World Record.

Even though retirement is an inevitable part of football, Ireland will have to reckon with the fact that they are on the brink of a new era. The departure of Fahey and Quinn combined with the fact that central defence was a weaker point of theirs the last time they were in League A, Ireland will have no choice other than to adapt and learn from the past.

While there are still veteran internationals in the team such as captain McCabe, who made her 100th appearance on Tuesday night, Ward is undoubtedly fixing her sights on the younger generation. If Larkin’s late goal was anything to go by, it’s that the future of the Irish squad is in good hands.

McCabe told RTE that she had “goosebumps” from Larkin’s late goal on Tuesday night.

“Larko has been in and around us for a while,” McCabe added. “She has been in great form for Palace and has really grown and matured over the past few years. We need to keep these players fit, healthy and in form because we’re going to need everybody in the steps for World Cup qualifying.”

Blame for their past shortcomings cannot be placed entirely on this team or Ward.

Behind the apparatus that is its women’s national team, its governing body the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has had an administrative part to play in the side’s progress.

The prevailing sentiment was that resources allocated to the development of the women’s game would increase following Ireland’s first ever Women’s World Cup appearance in 2023. While there have been several initiatives put in place by the FAI such as the Women and Girls Action Plan, that aims to increase female participation, pathways and performance in football, Ireland’s top domestic league, the Women’s Premier Division is still not fully professional.

The FAI was also a large cause of instability for the team after the dismal conclusion of their Euro qualifying campaign. After losing to Wales, former head coach Eileen Gleeson and her assistant Colin Healy were relieved from their positions. Their departures were met with huge controversy after Healy claimed that he was promised a future with the national team and as a result had turned down a job as manager of Cobh Ramblers.

While being promoted was an amazing feat, at this moment in time, Ireland are very much in need of consistency on and off the pitch.