Have expectations been set too high for Ireland after mixed Nations League group?
IT STARTED AND finished with 1-0 wins at home, but Ireland bookended their Uefa Women's Nations League group campaign quite differently.
The opener was a scrappy, unconvincing victory over Türkiye at Tallaght Stadium in February, marking Carla Ward's first game in charge in a period of much change.
The closer brought the best performance of her tenure, a dominant triumph against Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, albeit just by the minimum — and revenge, of sorts, for the 4-0 humbling in Koper in game two.
It wasn't enough to usurp the Slovenians atop Group B2 and secure automatic promotion: Ireland will go head-to-head with Belgium for League A status in the playoffs in October.
The expectation at the outset was Ireland would easily win the group, like they did under Eileen Gleeson in 2023.
'But we didn't have Slovenia,' Ward warned in February. 'The teams are closer, but naturally we want to win all six and I'm sure I'll have a lovely summer.'
She had to settle for five, and much to ponder ahead of two international friendlies against USA later this month, and the campaign-defining playoff against Belgium.
In the autumn of 2023, Gleeson's side made light work of Northern Ireland, Hungary and Albania as they enjoyed a 100% record, scored 20 goals and conceded two.
Slovenia, Türkiye and Greece were better opposition this time around as standards rise across Europe, but this was a patchy series as Ireland scored 10 and conceded six.
Have expectations been set too high? Ward believes the team overachieved by reaching the World Cup in 2023, while they have certainly punched above their weight at times through the years.
The Koper horror show was a wake-up call for Irish women's football as a whole, as we wrote at the time, with wider development coming into question. That will only continue as head of women and girls' football Hannah Dingley exits after an underwhelming year in the job, but the team, at least, appear to have put that shocking result in the rear-view mirror.
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Ireland head coach Carla Ward and assistant head coach Alan Mahon during that defeat to Slovenia. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The last few months have been a rollercoaster for the Irish women's game.
Failure to qualify for Euro 2025 was a gut-punch last December, with the FAI opting for a change of management thereafter. The exit of Gleeson, and more so Colin Healy, dominated the headlines for weeks on end, the external noise undoubtedly taking a toll, with Ward appointed in the thick of it all.
That wasn't the only major squad change: Ireland lost a combined total of 395 caps as Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell, Louise Quinn and Julie-Ann Russell all retired.
Much has been made of the transition, leadership void and Euros play-off hangover, along with changes of system and style. Ireland had been wedded to a back three/five and direct approach under Gleeson, Vera Pauw and Colin Bell, with Ward preferring possession-based, attacking football in a fluid 4-3-3.
Players have made no secret of their wishes to play a more expansive game, but the collective technical ability has been questioned in some quarters. Patience has been urged.
Defensive solidity has always been Ireland's DNA, and this was often lost sight of in recent months. The quest to improve going forward seemed to come at the expense of strength at the back. They were torn apart too many times, not just in the first Slovenia implosion as player and positional experimentation backfired spectacularly.
A four-goal second-half salvo away to Greece was the other end of the scale, attacking encouragement evident against lowly opposition.
A balance was struck to good effect against Slovenia in Cork.
'Probably the way I'd put it would be a Carla Ward team on the ball and an Irish mentality off the ball,' the manager said afterwards.
'That's what we need to build on. If we want to play in an exciting way going forward, and that's the way I like my teams to play, we have to be better off the ball.
'The Irish have always been very good defensively. So let's go back to the Irish basics. It's tight, it's compact, it's together. And then add in how we want to play with the ball.
'If we can combine the two, the future is bright.'
In all, Ward used 21 players through the six games. The former Aston Villa boss appears to have not yet settled on her first-choice XI, while the first and last matches were the only in which she didn't make half-time changes.
Courtney Brosnan, Anna Patten and Denise O'Sullivan played every minute, while Aoife Mannion and Lucy Quinn started five games before injury and illness hampered their involvement in the finale. Katie McCabe was also a mainstay, barring suspension and an injury concern in the Greece double-header.
The captain and Champions League winner is unavailable for the upcoming US friendlies — 'she's on the verge of burnout,' as Ward said — and several other players are unlikely to travel. That squad selection will be interesting, the door potentially open for younger and fringe players, and League of Ireland talent.
Ireland captain Katie McCabe. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Acid tests await against Emma Hayes' world number one in Colorado (Thursday 26 June) and Cincinnati (Sunday 29 June), but development will be stressed in these games ahead of the all-important playoff in October.
Belgium are a consistent force in League A, and are preparing for this summer's Euros, grouped with world champions Spain, Italy and Portugal. Ireland will be disappointed watching from afar, the sense of missed opportunity deepening, but they must focus on the next job.
Elísabet Gunnarsdótti's side are 20th in the world rankings, six places above Ireland, while the highlight of their mixed Nations League group campaign was a 3-2 win over European champions England.
Belgium won 1-0 the last time they played Ireland in an international friendly in April 2021, and they'll have home advantage in the second leg, but Ward and co. will hope to upset the odds, return to League A, and in turn, boost their 2027 World Cup qualification chances.
Maintaining a balance between Carla Ward football and the Irish way is the aim going forward. Compromise is key.
The jury is still out on this first campaign. Only after October's playoff can definitive conclusions be drawn.
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