Captain Katie McCabe says chaos is in the past with credit to go to players who fought for women’s football in Ireland

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe Credit: Peter Fitzpatrick (ETPhotos)

Macdara Ferris reports from the Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg

There certainly is a feeling that momentum is building behind the Irish women’s football team.

The girls in green sit second in the table for World Cup qualification and are attracting record crowds at Tallaght Stadium.

The aim is that the team can put in a good performance against Sweden on Tuesday night that can propel the team further in their quest to make the play-offs for the 2023 World Cup.

In Gothenburg they play a Swedish side who are ranked second in the world and will be playing in front of what is expected to be a record crowd at the Gamla Ullevi stadium for a game involving the Swedish national side.

Ireland skipper Katie McCabe isn’t fazed by what faces her team on Tuesday in the 14,500 capacity stadium.

“We’re used to it away from home. It is 11 v 11 and we’re focused on the job in hand.”

“We don’t go out playing these games to lose. You want to come over here and do our best. I’d be gutted if we lost.

“We know that in qualifying campaigns we need to get big results. For us, it’s a massive game but we also know what we’re capable of.



“We’ll be fully focused on the gameplan and giving it 100 percent.

The Irish captain made her debut back in 2015 and since then the Arsenal player has played 60 games, scoring 13 goals.

“I think I came in at a real pivotal time,” said McCabe speaking to reporters in the stadium in Gothenburg on the eve of the game. 

“We had some great leaders in the team when I first came in. Obviously Emma Byrne being our captain at the time. 

"The last few years we have had some big moments but where we are now, I think it is a real credit to all the players who fought for everything really for women's football in Ireland. 

“For us now, the current generation, we need to keep fighting. We need to progress the game at international level and in our league.



"I still keep an eye on the women's national league even though I am in London. For us to get better as an international team we have to look after our own league and support it."

Asked is this the most exciting time to be involved in Ireland, the 26-year-old played said "yeah I think so. I think it is up to us now to do our job on the pitch.

"We got great support from the FAI, there is no chaos behind the scenes, or anything like that where maybe there was a few years ago. 

“It is just up to us to fully focus on what we have to do on the pitch. It starts tomorrow night and goes right through to September when the campaign ends."

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile