Back after a break last week. Here’s some info on the Euro 2025 Play-off situation for Ireland, and a look ahead to this weeks games.

International

Another difficult international window for Ireland in League A. Sweden would have been the games Ireland would have targeted the most for getting some points on the board. The home game saw chances and positives before the game got away. If Amber Barrett scores that header to equalize Ireland could have held out. Caitlin Hayes was terrific in the game but Ireland were overwhelmed when pushing forward. The away game saw a more defensively solid display with few chances. Courtney Brosnan had her view blocked for an unfortunate goal from a corner. We’ll look at how a point there could have been massive.

With games against France and England coming up in July Ireland are unlikely to pick up any points in the group. When promotion was secured it was a big achievement to have a guaranteed play-off, and that is still the case. It’s the most difficult group in League A. When looking at the other 3 groups it’s realistic to think Ireland could be more competitive. Now it’s almost a certainty that the Girls in Green will finish 4th.

So what does that mean for the play-offs? Well Ireland are guaranteed to play a league C team in round 1. If they win that then a lot depends on seeding. Here’s a little explainer of the play-off format:

The main thing to take away here is that in order to be a seeded team in the play-off finals Ireland need to finish with a better record than at least one other league A team. Ireland are likely going to finish 4th, so here’s he ranking of the 4th place teams:
Finland 4pts -4GD
Czech Republic 1pts -5GD
Ireland 0pts -7GD
Poland 0pts -10GD
Czech Republic getting a point against Belgium means their probably safe from the bottom position. With Ireland unlikely to beat England or France, it’s really about keeping a better goal difference. But if Ireland were to pull off a huge result and get a point in either of those games that may just be enough. Poland play Austria away and Iceland at home in July, so from an Ireland point of view we need them to lose those games.
Ireland should be able to navigate the first round of play-offs easily enough against a league C team. Being seeded for the second round means avoiding the likes of Norway or Italy, Denmark or Belgium, Iceland or Austria,as well as one of France, Sweden or England.

It’s one of the drawbacks of being in the group of death, naturally the weakest team in the group of death won’t have a great record. In any of the other 3 league A groups Ireland would have a a good chance of picking up a win, possibly finishing 3rd, and maybe even get an automatic qualifying spot. But facing stiffer competition will benefit Ireland in the long run. The team has been punished for mistakes, whether it was a slow start against France, defensive lapses against England, or pushing too forward against Sweden. The learning curves are steep but they will stand to the Girls in Green.

There’s still a lot of football to be played before the rankings are set, but Ireland will have more experience going into the first round and a potential second round having been in the group of death.

At Home

It’s always interesting to see how teams shape up the weekend after an international break when domestic action returns.

The two early games are Bohemians vs Shamrock Rovers and DLR Waves vs Sligo Rovers, with both kicking off at 15:00. The latter will see two teams gunning for a first win. Both sides will be aiming to avoid bottom spot by the end of the weekend. For DLR Waves the break arguably comes at a bad time considering they had gone two consecutive games unbeaten for the first time this season in the two weeks before hand. Positive displays in the All-Island Cup and League against Treaty United and Peamount United respectively had stopped a downturn that had been going on since week 2 of the season. They put in a positive display against Shamrock Rovers in round 1 of the league, who will possibly benefit from an extra training week to just reset. Things haven’t gone to plan for them in the league at all. The Tallaght side find themselves 9th, 1 point off bottom and a long way from the title challenge they had been hoping for. Their opponents Bohemians have picked up two wins but it’s been a bit stop start. They were idle the week before the break which could see them be very fresh or a bit sluggish.

Climbing up the table there’s some interesting clashes with the top 3 in action. Athlone go to a Cork City side who have found themselves in good form, City have picked up more points this year than in the whole of last season. The same stat can be wheeled out for Treaty United who host a classy Shelbourne side, although Treaty have stumbled a bit after a bright start. Leaders Galway host a Wexford side who for a 2nd year in a row have had a poor start, and will be hoping that it doesn’t extend like it did last season. Peamount United are idle this week so it’s a chance for Athlone, Shels, and Galway to put some distance between themselves and the champions. At the same time either of the top 3 could find themselves slipping up on Saturday.