UEFA EURO 2025 QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF ROUND 1 FIRST LEG
Georgia v Republic of Ireland, Mikheil Meskhi II Stadium, Friday 25 October, 5pm Irish time
TV
Watch live coverage on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player from 4.30pm.
RADIO
Listen to first half commentary on Radio 1 Extra, with second half on 2fm’s Game On.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App.
WEATHER
Friday in Tblisi is expected to be sunny with light breezes throughout the afternoon. Occasional showers may occur later in the evening. Temperatures of around eight degrees celsius at kick-off
IRELAND CAN PUT TIE TO BED BEFORE TALLAGHT
Despite finishing bottom of a tough qualifying group, Ireland remain in the hunt to qualify for the European Championships for the very first time.
After an opening night defeat to France, and home and away losses to England and Sweden, July’s somewhat unexpected 3-1 victory over the French at Páirc Uí Chaoimh ensured that Eileen Gleeson’s side would be seeded for the play-off series.
The draw for play-off path 1 was then relatively kind, as Ireland were reunited with Georgia, who were humbled 11-0 and 9-0 by the then Vera Pauw-managed Girls in Green during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers.
That Georgia side lost all eight games in that group, without scoring a goal and conceding 54, although they appear to have improved since, benefitting from the increased competition provided by the inaugural Nations League of 2023/24.
Georgia picked up a win during that campaign, and added three more in their Euro 2025 qualifying group League C, a double over Cyprus and a disciplined 1-0 win away in Lithuania.
A 20-0 aggregate loss to Ireland is unlikely to be repeated in this upcoming two-legged tie but Gleeson’s team will expect to at least have built up a big lead ahead of Tuesday’s return in Tallaght.
It is in the second round of path A that Ireland will really earn their place at next summer’s tournament when, barring disaster against the Georgians, they will face League B opposition in Wales or Slovakia for a place in Switzerland.
WHAT THEY SAID
Abbie Larkin was one of Ireland’s goalscorers in that 9-0 win in Gori in June 2022 but the winger isn’t under-estimating the opposition this time around, despite the recent morale-boosting win over France.
“All the girls are really excited,” she told RTÉ Sport from Ireland’s team base in Tbilisi
“I think we’re just going to focus on ourselves and then, yeah we’re looking forward to playing Georgia. We’re not going to classify them as not (being) as good as France. We’re just going to go into the game and play the way we normally play and not take anything for granted.”
Gleeson has ruled out any complacency from her troops, despite previous big wins over the opposition.
“You’re dealing with players that are professional now and understand that you’ll play teams of varying levels,” the manager told RTÉ Sport’s Tony O’Donoghue.
“So the mindset we’ve been promoting is definitely maintaining intensity and intent and just not being complacent around this game because, as we all know, anything can happen in football.
“It’s an opportunity for other people to step up and take their opportunity. We’ll see tomorrow who makes that.”
IRELAND TEAM NEWS
Defenders Megan Connolly and Louise Quinn have both been left at home to nurse hamstring and hip problems respectively. Neither will play in Tuesday’s return leg in Tallaght.
Megan Campbell (ankle), Jess Ziu (knee), Ruesha Littlejohn (Achilles) and Jamie Finn (knee) hadn’t been picked in Glesson’s original squad due to their injuries.
Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan will link up with the squad on their return from Georgia due to being suspended for the first leg. Squad regular Grace Moloney and uncapped pair Sophie Whitehouse and Katie Keane are the options to replace her.
IRELAND’S 23-PLAYER TRAVELLING SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic), Katie Keane (Athlone Town)
Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (Sunderland, on loan from West Ham United), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Caitlin Hayes (Celtic), Anna Patten (Aston Villa)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Lily Agg (Birmingham City), Ellen Molloy (Sheffield United), Heather Payne (Everton), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace), Eva Mangan (Cork City)
Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Julie-Ann Russell (Galway United), Marissa Sheva (Portland Thorns)