Kazakhstan are not a competitive international team, as seen during the 8-0 loss in Astana last Friday.<\/p>\n
Belgium take a 1-0 lead to Gda\u0144sk after a goal by Elena Dhont in Leuven gave them a slight advantage over a Polish side led by the exceptional Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 5pm kick-off in Poland means the Irish players will know the opposition blocking their path to the World Cup in Brazil next summer, even as they engage in what amounts to a training-ground exercise against part-timers.<\/p>\n The Kazakhstan game holds some value for Ward, mainly because Abbie Larkin is growing into a vital player for her country as well as her club, Crystal Palace. The 21-year-old\u2019s form demands a start, yet Marissa Sheva is equally important to how Ireland operate under their English coach.<\/p>\n It was Larkin\u2019s late finish that secured promotion to Nations League A, at Belgium\u2019s expense, in October 2025, but it was Sheva who scored in the two victories against Poland<\/a> during World Cup qualifying in April.<\/p>\n If they both start, then Emily Murphy or Kyra Carusa will have to make way.<\/p>\n Sheva and Katie McCabe were suspended for last Friday\u2019s victory in Kazakhstan<\/a> while Denise O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s knee was spared the long-haul flights to Central Asia.<\/p>\n \u201cKatie and Denise will play,\u201d Ward confirmed. \u201cLet me be really clear, we are going to try and step up again. We want to be front-footed, we want to be better. Them two, arguably, are two of Ireland\u2019s greatest ever players. Why wouldn\u2019t they go back in?\u201d<\/p>\n Presuming McCabe will play at left wing back, Chloe Mustaki would shift to centre half as Jessie Stapleton drops to the bench. That in itself is a tough call on Stapleton but Mustaki was superb in Astana.<\/p>\n As O\u2019Sullivan returns to midfield alongside Megan Connolly, Sheva and Larkin appear to be challenging for the remaining position in behind Carusa.<\/p>\n Someone has to give way. Sheva is the engine within Ward\u2019s system, where every player is expected to cover every blade of grass without possession before springing into rapid counterattacks.<\/p>\n Having Sheva or Larkin and Crystal Palace midfielder Shanade Hopcroft to come off the bench brings genuine strength in depth to an Ireland squad that was beginning to grow old together.<\/p>\n \u201cI was saying to the group this morning that it is good now to have really strong competition everywhere,\u201d said Ward. \u201cJamie [Finn] came [into midfield for O\u2019Sullivan] and did tremendously well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a really good group. They want to drive and push each other all the time. We are not just a team built on culture any more, we are a bloody good football team.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Sullivan was devastated to be suspended for the last international at P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh, a 3-2 <\/a>victory against the Netherlands<\/a> in June when Amber Barrett scored a late winner.<\/p>\n \u201cI love playing here,\u201d said O\u2019Sullivan, who recently returned to America with Gotham FC in New Jersey after a brief period at Liverpool.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is really, really special, my family being here. The whole of Cork has supported me throughout my career. In particular, people from Knocknaheeny. They always come down to watch the games.\u201d<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s two-legged playoff final against Belgium or Poland will be played between November 26th and December 5th, with the second leg at home.<\/p>\n IRELAND (possible): Brosnan; Patten, Hayes, Mustaki; Mannion, Connolly, O\u2019Sullivan, McCabe; Murphy, Larkin; Carusa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World Cup playoff semi-final, second leg: Republic of Ireland (8) v Kazakhstan (0), P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh, Tuesday, 7.30pm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[18999,61,60,43,18998],"class_list":["post-653211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-carla-ward","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-wnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Denise](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/KX3L3QXDUDAAN3HEWZWVQ7AGUI.jpg\")
Denise O’Sullivan is looking forward to representing Ireland in front of family members at P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh, Cork. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n![\"Republic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/EDGEAG4SSYQEWVKVJ6CPOJQWVI.jpg\")
Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward has urged her players not to let up in the second leg against Kazakhstan in Cork on Tuesday. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n