![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/94488_2934024.jpg\")
<\/p>\nKatie McCabe also missed a penalty, but it didn\u2019t affect the outcome as Ireland picked up three crucial World Cup points.<\/p>\n
Ireland’s Katie McCabe celebrates her stunning volley against Poland(Image: INPHO\/Ryan Byrne)<\/p>\n
Ireland boss Carla Ward has hailed Katie McCabe as \u201cthe best left-back in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward admitted she was left in shock as McCabe<\/a> scored a world-class volley to double Ireland<\/a>\u2019s lead against Poland on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n The Arsenal<\/a> star missed a penalty late in the second-half when she blasted the ball over the bar, but that didn\u2019t stop the Girls in Green from collecting three crucial World Cup<\/a> points.<\/p>\n They head into Saturday\u2019s return game against Poland at the Aviva Stadium knowing that a win would all but guarantee a third-placed finish.<\/p>\n That would make qualification far less challenging, as it would mean a play-off semi-final later this year against a League C team over two legs.<\/p>\n Victory in that tie would set up a decider against either a League B nation or a fourth placed League A side.<\/p>\n McCabe\u2019s 20th minute goal saw Ireland race into a 2-0 lead in Gdansk. She swung her left boot at an attempt to clear Megan Connolly\u2019s corner, and sent the ball arching over a crowded area and into the right-hand-corner of the net.<\/p>\n Reacting to that strike, Ward said: \u201cI don\u2019t know if the camera even caught my face, I think I stood still for a moment or two.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was unbelievable. It takes some serious world-class technique.<\/p>\n \u201cI say it all the time, we\u2019re blessed that we\u2019ve got the best left-back in the world in my opinion. How she struck that ball, how she landed it was superb.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward spoke of her pride at the team performance, as Ireland took it to their hosts from the first whistle and kept Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor quiet for most of the game, until she popped up with a late consolation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was well deserved. For 90 minutes we were the better team,\u201d Ward said. \u201cI think what we tried to do, hurt them in the spaces we wanted to, we achieved that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m disappointed with the two goals, of course. You know me, we\u2019d like to have kept a clean sheet. But this group of players deserve an awful lot of credit.<\/p>\n \u201cTo turn a result in tonight away from home in a tricky place to play, they deserve an awful lot of credit.<\/p>\n \u201cI really hope the girls get the praise they deserve, because they have shown across three games how well they\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n \u201cWe said we wanted to get over the line against these sorts of teams and we have.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to take six points from this window and if we can then it puts us in a really strong position.\u201d<\/p>\n McCabe, meanwhile, deflected praise for her goal and admitted that she was \u201cmore disappointed\u201d about her penalty miss.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cNo excuses for me. My standards are I want to be hitting the back of the net with those penalties. So I\u2019ll be quite annoyed with that one.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I was just delighted we were able to see the game out in the way we did. The impact from the bench as well was really important.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cIt was all about the three points for us. Obviously the first two games were really tough against France and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were close and we didn\u2019t quite get over the line, so going into tonight was really important.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew Poland are a fantastic team, so it was really important for us to get control of the ball and I think we did that really well.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to win on Saturday. As I said, I don\u2019t mind who scores. Everyone has been unbelievable with the impact they\u2019re making in this team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we just need to build off this performance and work towards Saturday, and hope the fans come out in their numbers to support us in the Aviva.\u201d<\/p>\n