Preview | Belgium WNT v Ireland WNT

Preview | Belgium WNT v Ireland WNT

The Ireland Women’s National Team come up against Belgium in the Second Leg of their UEFA Nations League Promotion / Relegation Play-Off on Tuesday night.

Following a 4-2 victory in the Aviva Stadium last Friday, Ireland are hoping to build on that and seal promotion to League A – which would aid their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying campaign.

Should the aggregate scores remain level after this game, extra-time will be played followed by a penalty shoot-out if required.

The game will be broadcast live on RTÉ2 and on the RTÉ Player.

 

MATCH DETAILS
UEFA Nations League 
Promotion / Relegation Play-Off, Second Leg
Belgium v Ireland
Tuesday, October 28th
Den Dreef, Leuven
KO 19:30 (Irish Time), 20:30 (Local Time)
LIVE on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player

 

TEAM NEWS
Defender Anna Patten is available after missing the First Leg through suspension to give Ireland a full squad to select from.

 

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee | Stéphanie Frappart (France)
Assistant Referee 1 | Melissa Rossignol (France)
Assistant Referee 2 | Jennifer Maubacq (France)
Fourth Official | Maïka Vanderstichel (France)

 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
27/10/1980 | Ireland 1-0 Belgium | International Friendly | Dalymount Park, Dublin
17/10/1981 | Belgium 4-1 Ireland | International Friendly | Heysel Stadium, Brussels
31/03/1996 | Ireland 0-1 Belgium | UEFA EURO Qualifier | Dalymount Park, Dublin
04/05/1996 | Belgium 5-1 Ireland | UEFA EURO Qualifier | Regenboogstadion, Waregem
20/02/2019 | Belgium 1-0 Ireland | International Friendly | Pinatar Arena, Spain
11/04/2021 | Belgium 1-0 Ireland | International Friendly | King Boudouin Stadium, Brussels
24/10/2025 | Ireland 4-2 Belgium | UEFA Nations League Play-Off | Aviva Stadium, Dublin


IRELAND WNT SQUAD
Goalkeepers:
 Grace Moloney (Sunderland), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic), Katie Keane (Leicester City)

Defenders: Heather Payne (Leicester City), Aoife Mannion (Newcastle United), Jessie Stapleton (Nottingham Forest – on loan), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Nottingham Forest), Izzy Atkinson (Sunderland), Katie McCabe (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Ruesha Littlejohn (Crystal Palace), Jamie Finn (Sunderland), Tyler Toland (Durham), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Jess Ziu (Bristol City – on loan), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)

Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Emily Murphy (Newcastle United), Saoirse Noonan (Celtic) 

 

IRELAND WNT PLAYER STATS
Goalkeepers

Grace Moloney | DOB 01/03/1993 | 8 caps / 2 clean sheets | Debut vs Austria 02/03/2016 
Sophie Whitehouse | DOB 10/10/1996 | 0 caps / 0 clean sheets 
Katie Keane | DOB 27/07/2006 | 0 caps / 0 clean sheets

Defenders
Heather Payne | DOB 26/01/2000 | 51 caps / 2 goals | Debut vs Scotland 17/07/2017
Aoife Mannion | DOB 24/09/1995 | 17 caps / 1 goal | Debut vs China PR 22/02/2023
Jessie Stapleton | DOB 07/02/2005 | 18 caps / 2 goals | Debut vs Philippines 19/06/2022 
Anna Patten | DOB 20/04/1999 | 18 caps / 3 goals | Debut vs France 05/04/2024
Caitlin Hayes | DOB 22/09/1995 | 25 caps / 2 goals | Debut vs Northern Ireland 23/09/2023 
Hayley Nolan | DOB 07/03/1997 | 4 caps / 0 goals | Debut vs Belgium 16/04/2021
Chloe Mustaki | DOB 29/07/1995 | 11 caps / 0 goals | Debut vs Russia 19/02/2022
Izzy Atkinson | DOB 17/07/2001 | 20 caps / 0 goals | Debut vs Portugal 21/01/2018
Katie McCabe | DOB 21/09/1995 | 99 caps / 31 goals | Debut vs Hungary 04/03/2015​​​​​​​

Midfielders
Denise O’Sullivan | DOB 04/02/1994 | 126 caps / 21 goals | Debut vs Cymru 17/09/2011
Ruesha Littlejohn | DOB 03/07/1990 | 92 caps / 6 goals | Debut vs Hungary 07/03/2012 
Tyler Toland | DOB 08/08/2001 | 26 caps / 1 goal | Debut vs Northern Ireland 19/09/2017
Marissa Sheva | DOB 22/04/1997 | 19 caps / 3 goals | Debut vs China PR 22/02/2023
Jamie Finn | DOB 21/04/1998 | 21 caps / 0 goals | Debut vs Greece 12/11/2019
Jess Ziu | DOB 06/06/2002 | 18 caps / 0 goals | Debut vs Northern Ireland 31/08/2018
Lucy Quinn | DOB 29/09/1993 | 31 caps / 5 goals | Debut vs Australia 21/09/2021​​​​​​​

Forwards
Kyra Carusa | DOB 14/11/1995 | 39 caps / 11 goals | Debut vs Montenegro 11/03/2020 
Amber Barrett | DOB 10/01/1996 | 55 caps / 9 goals | Debut vs Cymru 19/08/2016
Abbie Larkin | DOB 27/04/2005 | 29 caps / 1 goal | Debut vs Russia 19/02/2022 
Emily Murphy | DOB 02/03/2003 | 12 caps / 1 goal | Debut vs Cymru 27/02/2024
​​​​​​​Saoirse Noonan | DOB 13/07/1999 | 10 caps / 2 goals | Debut vs Cymru 21/08/2016 

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