# Republic of Ireland women's national football team
The **Republic of Ireland women's national football team** is the senior women's international team of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the governing body of football in the [Republic of Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/republic-of-ireland), and competes in FIFA and [UEFA competitions](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-competitions). The team reached its first major tournament by qualifying for the 2023 [FIFA Women's World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-womens-world-cup), and as of 2026 is contesting qualifying play-offs for the 2027 World Cup under head coach Carla Ward.[1](https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/irl/) • [2](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-squad-selected-fifa-womens-world-cup-qualifying-play/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Football Association of Ireland, founded 1 June 1921 in Dublin[1](https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/irl/) |
| First major tournament | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, secured with a 1-0 play-off win over Scotland on 11 October 2022 under Vera Pauw[3](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-republic-of-ireland-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics) |
| 2023 World Cup result | Group B exit with one point: 0-1 Australia, 1-2 Canada, 0-0 Nigeria[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) |
| Captain | Katie McCabe, also the team's top scorer in 2023 World Cup qualifying with 7 goals[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) |
| FIFA Women's World Ranking | 21st (2026); highest 21st, lowest 38th, average 30th[5](https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-rankings/world-ranking/IRL?gender=women) |
| Nations League | Promoted to League A in 2025 under Carla Ward: 11 games, 7 wins, 18 goals[6](https://www.fai.ie/latest/2025-review-wnt/) |
| Other tournaments | Never qualified for the UEFA Women's EURO or the Olympics[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) |
## Qualification for the 2023 World Cup
The team's defining breakthrough came in the 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign. Ireland finished as [Group A](https://www.edgepedia.org/group-a) runners-up with five wins, two draws, and one loss, scoring 26 goals and conceding 4, then won the UEFA play-off.[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) The decisive match was a 1-0 victory over Scotland at [Hampden Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/hampden-park) on 11 October 2022, won by a goal from Amber Barrett, which sent Ireland to a World Cup for the first time.[3](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-republic-of-ireland-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics) • [7](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-review-of-2022/)
The 2022 campaign included a 1-1 draw away to top seeds Sweden in [Gothenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/gothenburg), an early [Katie McCabe](https://www.edgepedia.org/katie-mccabe) goal and an acknowledged display by goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, and a 9-0 win in Georgia that equalled the team's highest ever away win. The year also brought a highest ever position on the FIFA Rankings, a highest ever home attendance, and a run of six straight clean sheets, with seven clean sheets for Brosnan over the year.[7](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-review-of-2022/)
## The 2023 World Cup
At the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, Vera Pauw's side competed in [Group B](https://www.edgepedia.org/group-b) and lost 1-0 to co-hosts Australia in Sydney on 20 July, lost 2-1 to Canada in Perth on 26 July, and drew 0-0 with Nigeria in Brisbane on 31 July, leaving the group with a single point.[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) Katie McCabe scored the team's goal against Canada, described by UEFA as a historic goal.[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/) The 23-player squad included McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan of Arsenal and North Carolina Courage respectively, Courtney Brosnan of Everton, and Amber Barrett of Standard Liège.[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/)
Before the tournament captain McCabe framed the team's aim: "We don't just want to create history, we want to leave a legacy."[8](https://www.fai.ie/latest/legacy-building-from-extraordinary-year-for-women-and-girls-football/) The FAI subsequently reported more girls playing at grassroots level, more female coaches earning UEFA qualifications, more female referees, and more women returning to football through recreational programs.[8](https://www.fai.ie/latest/legacy-building-from-extraordinary-year-for-women-and-girls-football/)
## Background: conditions and the 2017 players' stand
The qualification campaign followed a period in which the players themselves forced change. On 4 April 2017, less than six years before qualification, 16 players took what the BBC described as an extraordinary stand at Liberty Hall in Dublin to highlight a lack of support from the FAI, and for a couple of days the women's national team was the biggest story in Ireland.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65989045)
The FAI has since announced equal pay for senior women's and men's international teams, and developing football for women and girls is a core pillar of the association's strategy.[1](https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/irl/) At last count the FAI oversaw 75 leagues, including 39 offering women's or girls' football, and 530 of Ireland's 1,186 grassroots clubs offer football to women and girls.[1](https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/irl/)
## 2024 to 2026: EURO miss, Nations League promotion, and 2027 qualifying
Ireland competed against leading teams in 2024 but fell short in qualification for UEFA Women's EURO 2025, including a 0-2 home defeat to England at the [Aviva Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/aviva-stadium) in a EURO qualifier on 9 April 2024.[10](https://www.fai.ie/latest/2024-review-wnt/) The team has never qualified for a Women's EURO.[4](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/)
**Carla Ward took charge in 2025** and oversaw promotion to League A of the [UEFA Women's Nations League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-womens-nations-league), winning seven of 11 games and scoring 18 goals; the year closed with a 3-2 friendly win over Hungary in Marbella.[6](https://www.fai.ie/latest/2025-review-wnt/) In 2026 World Cup qualifying Ireland beat Poland 1-0, the Netherlands 3-2, and [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan) 8-0 away and 4-0 at home, losing only to France 1-0, and advanced to a two-legged qualifying play-off against Kazakhstan in October 2026, with the winners moving to Round 2 against Belgium or Poland for a place at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.[2](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-squad-selected-fifa-womens-world-cup-qualifying-play/) • [11](https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/teams/500064--republic-of-ireland/) Ward named a 25-player squad for the tie, with McCabe and Marissa Sheva suspended for the first leg in Astana.[2](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-squad-selected-fifa-womens-world-cup-qualifying-play/)
## Ranking and standing
In the FIFA Women's World Ranking Ireland stood 21st in 2026, its highest recorded position, after finishing 27th in 2025; the ranking history shows a lowest rank of 38th and an average of 30th.[5](https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-rankings/world-ranking/IRL?gender=women) In UEFA women's national team coefficients the team was ranked 18th as of September 2022.[12](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0280-17b4683163c2-f1b73cc29d05-1000/enc_womens_national_teams_coefficient_ranking_06.09.22.pdf) Player workload has become a recurring issue at elite level: McCabe sat out a pair of games in the United States in 2025 because she was said to be on the verge of burnout, a case cited in wider coverage of expanding women's competitions.[13](https://apnews.com/article/ecb724ff1b26bea9ec488d80ce818fc4)
## References
1. [Developing football in the Republic of Ireland, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/irl/)
2. [WNT squad selected for FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifying Play-Off, FAI](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-squad-selected-fifa-womens-world-cup-qualifying-play/)
3. [2023 FIFA Women's World Cup – Republic of Ireland, Total Football Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-republic-of-ireland-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics)
4. [Republic of Ireland at the 2023 Women's World Cup: Fixtures, results, squad, scorers, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0283-1876eee8e56e-635398217fd4-1000--republic-of-ireland-at-the-2023-women-s-world-cup-fixtures-r/)
5. [FIFA Women's World Ranking – Republic of Ireland, FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-rankings/world-ranking/IRL?gender=women)
6. [2025 REVIEW | WNT, FAI](https://www.fai.ie/latest/2025-review-wnt/)
7. [WNT: Review of 2022, FAI](https://www.fai.ie/latest/wnt-review-of-2022/)
8. [Legacy building from extraordinary year for Women and Girls' Football, FAI](https://www.fai.ie/latest/legacy-building-from-extraordinary-year-for-women-and-girls-football/)
9. [Women's World Cup 2023: From changing in airport toilets to qualifying for first tournament, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65989045)
10. [2024 REVIEW | WNT, FAI](https://www.fai.ie/latest/2024-review-wnt/)
11. [Republic of Ireland | UEFA Women's EURO, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/teams/500064--republic-of-ireland/)
12. [Women's National Team Coefficient Ranking, UEFA](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0280-17b4683163c2-f1b73cc29d05-1000/enc_womens_national_teams_coefficient_ranking_06.09.22.pdf)
13. [More competitions, longer seasons and other demands put focus on workload in elite women's soccer, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ecb724ff1b26bea9ec488d80ce818fc4)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › FIFA World Cup › FIFA Women's World Cup › Women's World Cup qualification and national participation › European nations at the Women's World Cup*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license