Republic of Ireland v England

WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE?

EURO 2025 qualifier: Republic of Ireland v England, Tuesday 7.30pm, Aviva Stadium.

TV

Watch live coverage and all the build-up on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player from 7pm.

RADIO

Listen to live commentary on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On with coverage starting at 6pm.

ONLINE

Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App.

WEATHER

Thankfully a dry day is forecast for Dublin on Tuesday with light winds and clear skies come kick-off. Temperatures could drop to 6C later on in the evening, so wrap up warm.

FIXTURES DON’T GET EASIER FOR IRELAND

Fresh from a narrow 1-0 defeat to France, the number three side in the FIFA world rankings, Ireland have to dust themselves down and prepare to face the second-best team in the world, according to those rankings.

There were plenty of positives to take from Ireland’s narrow loss to the French on Saturday, but such is the turnaround that head coach Eileen Gleeson will have little time to reflect on them before England arrive.

Taking on two of the best three sides in the world in the space of four days represents perhaps the toughest international window that Ireland have ever faced, but Gleeson is looking for points, not excuses, against England.

With over 30,000 tickets already sold for the fixture, the Girls in Green are counting on a raucous crowd to help level the playing field against Sarina Wiegman’s side.

Ireland skipper Katie McCabe has called on the Ireland supporters to be at their best.

She said: “There’s over 30,000 tickets sold, and that buzz that the fans create for us whether in Tallaght or at the Aviva is so special to us and we feel that when we step onto the pitch, we feel that we’ve got a stadium behind us and it’s going to be massively important for us tomorrow night.”

GLEESON UNLIKELY TO CHANGE HER APPROACH

While the French media may have not been too impressed with Ireland’s tactical approach last Friday, the Irish boss looks set to continue with the same safety-first set-up that she deployed in Metz.

Ireland’s defensive resilience against the French was admirable after they conceded the game’s only goal on six minutes, and the manager is going to have to build on that base against England, while ensuring that her side offer more of a threat going forward.

That Ireland had just one attempt on goal to France’s 21 tells its own story, as Kyra Carusa cut a lonely figure up front, feeding off scraps while her team-mates set up in two narrow defensive lines.

Gleeson’s biggest challenge against England will be to maintain the defensive solidity that her side displayed against France, while offering more of an attacking threat.

However, Megan Campbell has dismissed suggestions that Ireland might change their approach against an England side that regularly dominate possession against whoever they play.

“We have to be hard to beat, which we were, minus the one goal we conceded. We were solid for the other 84 minutes – so no, we don’t change anything, we just build on the positives we saw in this game. Hopefully we can get a better result.

“We have to be realistic, we have to play to our strengths. Ultimately, we’re hard to break down. We’re a great team defensively, we pride ourselves on that. We’ll absolutely give it everything we have.”

Gleeson will be without the services of Jess Ziu, who has been ruled with a niggling hamstring injury. Glasgow City’s Emily Whelan has been drafted in as Ziu’s replacement.

Amber Barrett should be okay despite coming off on Friday with what appeared to be a hamstring issue. However, she’s likely to have to settle for a spot among the substitutes again. Heather Payne was forced off injured in France but has since trained and looks likely to be fit.

PRESSURE ON ENGLAND AFTER OPENING DAY DRAW

England are also looking to rebound from a disappointing opening group game after they drew 1-1 with Sweden at Wembley on Friday.

Despite dominating both possession and chances, a sloppy second-half performance saw them forced to settle for a share of the spoils after Fridolina Rolfo’s 64th-minute header levelled things up.

England looked uncomfortable and vulnerable when Sweden attacked on the break and a porous midfield will have given Gleeson plenty to think about.

English boss Wiegman stopped short of calling the game a must-win one for her side, but having already slipped up in what’s likely to be a very tight group, she’s eager to leave Dublin with maximum points.

“I don’t really want to talk about must-win – but we really want to win this game. If we win this game it puts us in a better position,” said Wiegman.

“We know this group. It’s hard to predict where it will go. You just go out there in every game and try to play your best game. That’s what we will do.

“Yes, we know, if the result is good, it puts us in a better position. If the result is not good, it puts us in a harder position. But there are still four other opportunities to change that around.

“[Ireland] had a 1-0 result against France, that was really good. What we expect is they are a physical team and are very well-organised, so they can play the counter attack.

“You can try to take that opportunity and moments that they will probably jump and press out, so we have to be aware of that. We’re definitely going to think that’s hard to break down their defence.”

Wiegman confirmed that Leah Williamson will start for England, with the Arsenal defender set to make her return to the international fold after nearly a year out following an ACL injury.

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Watch Republic of Ireland v England in Euro 2025 qualifying on Tuesday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on 2fm’s Game On