Iceland 3 - 2 Republic of Ireland | 2020 - Senior Women's Friendlies | 999947180

Senior Women's Friendlies

Friday, June 11, 2021

Iceland 3 - 2 Republic of Ireland

Report
Preview
Lineups
Minute by Minute Commentary
Statistics
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REPORT | Iceland 3-2 WNT

Republic of Ireland Women's National Team Manager Vera Pauw wanted to test her side against quality opposition before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers start and that is exactly what happened in Reykjavik.

11th Jun 2021

Iceland landed two early blows as they broke through Ireland's defence with goals inside the opening 15 minutes with Agla María Albertsdóttir controlling the ball beautifully before chipping into the net before Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir scored from close range.

This was not the start that Pauw had imagined. And with a strong wind blowing in, Ireland were pinned inside their own penalty area for the bulk of the first half - unable to get their passing game going.

There were some bright passages of play, with Heather Payne and debutant Aoife Colvill making runs off the ball, while captain Katie McCabe dragged a shot wide.

However, Iceland took full advantage of the conditions and connected play superbly. They got a third goal when Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir drilled a shot against the post and it bounced back to Dagný Brynjarsdóttir to fire in.

Pauw made changes the interval - bringing on Éabha O'Mahony and Amber Barrett while moving McCabe further forward - and it brought them back into the game (aided by the strong wind).

Payne got the goal that she deserved on 50 minutes when O'Mahony's cross from the left was helped on by Barrett and the Roscommon native was in the right place to slot in for her first senior goal.

Barrett also got on the scoresheet with time running out when she latched onto a pass from Niamh Fahey and provided a neat left-footed finish. But it was too late to inspire a comeback.

Afterwards Pauw said: "You can never start the way that we did and everyone is aware of that. It's not that we are not aware of that, it's not that it has not been highlighted but because of the circumstances it cost us a couple of goals and that cannot happen any more.

"During the first half we rearranged the midfield to stop more goals from going in, which helped, but at half-time we decided to have more pressure on the wings so we brought on Éabha (O'Mahony) so that Katie (McCabe) could go forward and that helped us.

"We need to be more clinical (in front of goal) but what I liked is that we put a lot of pressure forward after the first half that we came through. We are capable of jumping up to that level and we will face these difficult circumstances again against Sweden and Finland so it's good that we are experiencing it now and learning how to deal with it."

The two teams meet again on Tuesday, June 15, where Ireland will be keen to get off to a better start and build on the positives of their second-half display.

Iceland: Sandra Sigurðardóttir; Elísa Viðarsdóttir, Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir (Svava Rós Guðmundsdóttir), Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir (Karitas Tómsdóttir), Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir, Elín Metta Jensen (Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir), Agla María Albertsdóttir (Kristín Dís Árnadóttir), Áslaug Munda Gunnlaugsdóttir.

Republic of Ireland: Moloney; Finn, Fahey, Caldwell, Quinn, McCabe; Farrelly (O'Mahony 46), Connolly; Colvill (Barrett 46), O'Sullivan, Payne.

Referee: Rebecca Welch (England).

PREVIEW | Iceland v WNT

Preparations for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers continue as the Republic of Ireland take on Iceland in the first of two back-to-back friendly internationals.

10th Jun 2021

The first game kicks off on Friday night at 18:00 before the teams meet again on Tuesday, June 15th at 18:00 in what should be two highly competitive games.

Iceland are currently 17th in the FIFA World Rankings, which is 17 places above Vera Pauw’s team (34th), and they have qualified for the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championships.

There will be 1,500 spectators in attendance at the national stadium for the two games.

TEAM NEWS
There are no injury concerns for Ireland with all players having trained this week.

Aoife Colvill received her FIFA international clearance last Tuesday, having switched associations from Australia.

All of the players & staff have tested negative for COVID-19.

FORM GUIDE

Grace Moloney was named as Reading's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year following a stand-out campaign
Keeva Keenan played her part in Celtic finishing as runners-up in the Scottish Women's Premier League - missing out on the final day
Niamh Fahey was nominated for the FA Women's Championship Player of the Season award for her outstanding displays for Liverpool
Louise Quinn helped Fiorentina finish fourth in Serie A after reaching the Round of 16 in the UEFA Women's Champions League
Diane Caldwell and Denise O'Sullivan have both featured for North Carolina Courage in their opening games of the NWSL season
Katie McCabe was selected to the WSL Team of the Season after the Arsenal wing-back finished joint top of the assists charts with 11
Niamh Farrelly and Aoife Colvill made valuable contributions in helping Glasgow City secure a 14th Scottish Women's Premier League title
Megan Connolly was a key player as Brighton & Hove Albion enjoyed their best season yet in the WSL by finishing in sixth place - Rianna Jarrett also featured regularly
Roma McLaughlin was selected to the Division 1 Women’s Soccer All-America Third Team for the second successive year after helping Central Connecticut State University retain the NEC Women’s Soccer Championship
Heather Payne has been part of Flordia State University's run to the NCAA National Championship Final after winning their ACC Conference
Amber Barrett scored 10 goals to help FC Koln win the second tier of Frauen Bundesliga and clinch promotion back to the top flight
In the SSE Airtricity Women's National League, all outfield players have been on the scoresheet so far this season - Claire Walsh (1), Éabha O'Mahony (1), Áine O'Gorman (5), Jamie Finn (2), Ciara Grant (3), Jessica Ziu (2), Ellen Molloy (5), and Saoirse Noonan (4) - while goalkeeper Eve Badana has recorded four clean sheets

PLAYER INTERVIEWS
Credit FAI TV if using either of the below interviews...

QUOTES
Republic of Ireland Manager Vera Pauw
“Iceland are a fantastic opponent, because they are playing in the same kind of style of Sweden and Finland, who are the top two seeded teams in our World Cup qualifying group, so these friendly games will help us to prepare for those qualifiers later in the year.

"Similar to the games against Denmark and Belgium in April, we chose to go with a strong opponent so that we can challenge ourselves because this will be the last window before we begin the World Cup qualifiers in September.

"Playing against a team like Iceland allows us to further develop our game - both defensively and from an attacking perspective. We have been making positive strides in our overall development and these games are perfect for testing us in the right kind of environment."

SQUAD LISTS

Republic of Ireland
Goalkeepers: Grace Moloney (Reading), Courtney Brosnan (Unattached), Eve Badana (DLR Waves)
Defenders: Keeva Keenan (Celtic), Claire O’Riordan (MSV Duisburg), Niamh Farrelly (Glasgow City), Louise Quinn (Fiorentina), Diane Caldwell (North Carolina Courage), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Claire Walsh (Peamount United), Éabha O’Mahony (Cork City), Áine O’Gorman (Peamount United)
Midfielders: Jamie Finn (Shelbourne), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ciara Grant (Shelbourne), Roma McLaughlin (Connecticut Fusion), Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne), Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths), Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Rianna Jarrett (Unattached), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Saoirse Noonan (Shelbourne), Aoife Colvill (Glasgow City)

Iceland
Goalkeepers: Sandra Sigurðardóttir (Valur), Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (KIF Örebro DFF), Auður Sveinbjörnsdóttir Scheving (ÍBV)
Defenders: Hafrún Rakel Halldórsdóttir (Breiðablik), Elísa Viðarsdóttir (Valur), Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir (FC Rosengard), Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir (Valerenga), Guðrún Arnardóttir (Djurgarden IF DFF) Kristín Dís Árnadóttir (Breiðablik), Hallbera Guðný Gísladóttir (AIK), Áslaug Munda Gunnlaugsdóttir (Breiðablik)
Midfielders: Andrea Rán Hauksdóttir (Breiðablik), Dagný Brynjarsdóttir (West Ham United), Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir (Orlando Pride), Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir (Eintracht Frankfurt), Karitas Tómsdóttir (Breiðablik), Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir (KIF Örebro DFF), Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir (Le Havre), Elín Metta Jensen (Valur), Agla María Albertsdóttir (Breiðablik), Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir (Kristianstads DFF), Svava Rós Guðmundsdóttir (Girondins de Bordeaux)

CAPS LIST
Republic of Ireland
Goalkeepers: Grace Moloney (4 caps / 0 clean sheets), Eve Badana (3 caps / 0 clean sheets), Courtney Brosnan (3 caps / 1 clean sheet)
Defenders: Keeva Keenan (3 caps / 0 goals), Claire Walsh (3 caps / 0 goals), Niamh Farrelly (2 caps / 0 goals), Louise Quinn (84 caps / 11 goals), Diane Caldwell (81 caps / 3 goals), Claire O'Riordan (16 caps / 0 goals), Niamh Fahey (93 caps / 0 goals), Éabha O’Mahony (1 cap / 0 goals), Áine O'Gorman (107 caps / 13 goals)
Midfielders: Jamie Finn (3 caps / 0 goals), Denise O'Sullivan (82 caps / 11 goals), Megan Connolly (27 caps / 1 goal), Ellen Molloy (3 caps / 0 goals), Ellen Molloy (4 caps / 0 goals), Jessica Ziu (3 caps / 0 goals), Roma McLaughlin (5 caps / 0 goals), Katie McCabe (50 caps / 10 goals)
Forwards: Heather Payne (16 caps / 0 goals), Amber Barrett (21 caps / 2 goals), Rianna Jarrett (15 caps / 1 goal), Saoirse Noonan (0 caps / 0 goals), Aoife Colvill (0 caps / 0 goals)

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
March 9, 2007: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Iceland – International Friendly
March 7, 2008: Iceland 4-1 Republic of Ireland – International Friendly
October 26, 2008: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Iceland – EURO 2019 Play-Off
October 30, 2008: Iceland 3-0 Republic of Ireland – EURO 2019 Play-Off
June 8, 2017: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Iceland – International Friendly

MATCH DETAILS
Iceland v Republic of Ireland
International Friendly
Friday, June 11
Laugardalsvollur
KO 18:00 (Irish Time)
LIVE on RTÉ Player / RTÉ News Channel
Referee: Rebecca Welch (England)