Republic of Ireland to 'lock in' for World Cup dream

What the report says

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe is already looking ahead to the next stage of her side’s Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign after a strong win over Kazakhstan in Cork. BBC Sport reported that Republic of Ireland completed a comfortable second-leg victory, with McCabe among the scorers, to move into the final play-off round and leave them two matches from the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

McCabe said the squad must now stay focused over the coming weeks before facing Poland, who secured their place in the same round after beating Belgium on penalties over two legs. Poland also include Barcelona forward Ewa Pajor, but Ireland beat them twice earlier in qualifying, adding context to what will be a decisive tie for a place at the finals.

The BBC said Ireland have been building momentum under head coach Carla Ward after an early setback against Slovenia in 2025. Since then, they have won promotion to League A in the Nations League and produced strong results against higher-ranked opponents, including Belgium, the Netherlands and France. McCabe, who recently joined Chelsea after leaving Arsenal, said the change had helped her enjoy her football again and that the team now needs to “lock in” ahead of November’s play-off.