Cork trio chase World Cup dream as Ireland host France in Tallaght 

Denise O'Sullivan, Megan Connolly and Saoirse Noonan will all be hoping to move one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup when the Republic of Ireland take on France this evening at Tallaght Stadium, 6.30pm.

The Girls in Green will go into this meeting with Les Bleues with a playoff already secured following their promotion-winning campaign in the UEFA Women's Nations League last year. They finished second in their group, behind Slovenia, and reached the top table of European football by overcoming Belgium in a two-legged play-off.

France are their next assignment, a team that last visited for a game in 2024 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The Cork contingent in the squad will have fond memories of that night as O'Sullivan got a goal and an assist as Les Bleues were downed 3-1 in front of a sold-out crowd.

There were talks that the sequel would be moved to the Aviva, but Tallaght Stadium won out with talk now turning to the difference in pitch sizes and if it gives Ireland an advantage.

Carla Ward even addressed this when speaking to the media.

"The pitch is slighter smaller, let's be honest," she said. "We will try do everything we can to make that as difficult as possible.

"UEFA have certain guidelines so there are guidelines you can tap into.

Can we get to the World Cup? Can we get there playing the way that we've built in this last year? I'd like to think we can, but we know we're going to have to be without the ball a lot more.

"I think you can see from how I've set teams up that we want to be entertaining but also there's going to be an element of who we're up against here."

The pitch size could be used to frustrate a star-studded France side that were knocked out of Euro 2025 on penalties by Germany in the quarter-finals.

QUALITY

Les Bleues are now on the road to the World Cup and they will begin their campaign without Griedge Mbock, a six-time Champions League winner who plays her football with PSG after transferring to Paris from Lyon.

Griedge Mbock is also expected to be out, based on reports in France, which dulls some of France's brightness. The forward has just signed for London City Lionesses, after a stint with San Diego Waves, and her absence gives Ireland another vote of confidence.

The Girls in Green will be targeting some sort of result, as anything bar a defeat will boost their chances of going to the World Cup. Even a low-scoring loss helps the cause as it helps the chances of attaining a higher seeding for the World Cup play-off draw.

The important thing is sense of opportunity, and knowing there's a very real pathway towards the airport and a place on the plane to Brazil.