Dublin plays host to a highly anticipated Women’s Euro qualifier on Tuesday evening as the Republic of Ireland take on England at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland come off the back of a positive 1-0 away loss to France, whilst England failed to overcome Sweden and had to settle for a score line of 1-1.
After struggling to hold back the Swedish, especially within their midfield, England will be looking for another way to press forward without their star midfielder Keira Walsh, who was marked off the ball during their game at Wembley.
Manager Sarina Wiegman assured that England have other players who can step up in this situation, and that they can change their style of play to get all their players on the ball and be influential to the Lionesses in their quest for a win away.
The game against France saw Ireland utilise the long-throw of Everton defender Megan Campbell, as a way to move further up the field in attack, which the Lionesses will have to be wary of when conceding throw ins.
Republic of Ireland manager Eileen Gleeson praised the support of the Irish fans; with over 30,000 expected at the Aviva, they’ll be out in full force to encourage their team along against their strong rivals.
There’s exciting news for England as Sarina Wiegman confirmed skipper Leah Williamson’s return to the starting 11 after she was an unused substitute at Wembley.
The last time Williamson saw the pitch for the Lionesses was in a 2-0 friendly loss to Australia in April 2023 prior to the Women’s World Cup.
Not even a week later she was side-lined from the England squad for a year after rupturing her ACL playing for her club Arsenal.
Fellow Arsenal defender Katie McCabe will captain the Girls in Green and stressed the importance of the squad seeing the night as ‘just another game’, despite the rivalry that always comes when England and Ireland face each other.
Republic of Ireland v England kicks off at 7.30pm on Tuesday 8 April 2024 and is available to watch on ITV (England) and RTE (Ireland).
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