Ireland to open Euro qualifying campaign away to France in Metz 

THE Republic of Ireland WNT will officially open up their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign this evening with a game against France at the Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien in Metz, and kick-off is scheduled for 8:10pm.

This is their reward for finishing top of their UEFA Women’s Nations League group, and the Girls in Green will go into this mini-tournament with a play-spot already secured for the showpiece event that is scheduled to take place in Switzerland next year.

France are just one top tier team scheduled to play Ireland over the coming months and the group also contains reigning European champions England and old foes Sweden, who last met the Girls in Green during World Cup qualifying.

Les Bleues are up first, and the two countries last played one another in a friendly before the 2023 World Cup.

France won that game 3-0 at Tallaght Stadium, but the result counted for very little as the two teams operated in second gear. 

Ireland used that occasion to further experiment and tinker with their team selection, as they were drawn to play joint-hosts Australia on the opening day of the tournament.

France still deserved the win. Les Bleues have one of the most talented squads in Europe, and the majority of their panel will be split down the middle in a couple of weeks when Lyon play PSG in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League. 

Ève Périsset is on the other side of the draw, and she is dreaming of a treble with Women’s Super League giants Chelsea.

They are coached by Hervé Renard, who masterminded Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.

He took Les Bleues over last summer and guided the team to the quarter finals of the Women’s World Cup, where they lost to Austrailia on penalties.

France will hope to build on their performances Down Under by qualifying for the European Championship, and that means starting off their qualifying campaign with a win.

Ireland know how to dig in and get results, they recently held Italy to a scoreless draw at Viola Park in Florence. 

This followed on from a perfect Women’s Nations League campaign, a run that even saw the team fight through a storm and a two hour stoppage to get a 1-0 win in Albania.

Those nights earned Eileen Gleeson Ireland job on a permanent basis, and she is building on what came before by working closely with assistant coach Colin Healy. 

They have a consistent team selection, and that has been done while integrating young players who are plying their trade in the Women’s Premier Division.

The coaches have also used the Irish diaspora to recruit the likes of Celtic defender Caitlin Hayes and Aston Villa defender Anna Patten.

They joined the established core of Denise O’Sullivan, Megan Connolly, Katie McCabe, and Louise Quinn.

That cohort will be hoping to take the next step after playing at the World Cup, and that starts on Friday.