The Republic of Ireland recorded a routine 4-0 victory in the second leg of their 2027 Women’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Kazakhstan at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as they rubber-stamped their place in the play-off final against Poland.
Already leading 8-0 from the first leg in Astana, Jessie Stapleton made the breakthrough five minutes before the break in Cork.
Three more goals followed in the second half, with captain Katie McCabe and Lucy Quinn firing home fine strikes and Cork’s own Denise O’Sullivan scoring a fourth.
They will now face Poland, who they beat twice in their qualifying group, in the final over two legs after they saw off Belgium on penalties.
Republic of Ireland will have home advantage for the second leg, which will be played at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 5 December, as they look to book their place in back-to-back World Cups.
The Irish went close to opening the scoring on the night on seven minutes when Abbie Larkin’s deft effort from a tight angle was hooked off the line by Bibigul Nurusheva.
McCabe and Stapleton then blasted over before Larkin had a low shot saved by Angelina Portnova, who also thwarted Emily Murphy.
The deadlock was eventually broken on 40 minutes as Stapleton drifted into the box to head home from Anna Patten’s inviting cross.
Shanade Hopcroft then hit the base of the post with a header before McCabe drilled home a second just three minutes into the second half.
Substitute Marissa Sheva rattled the woodwork before Quinn curled home a third into the far corner on 70 minutes and O’Sullivan rounded off the scoring with the fourth from close range.