EURO 2025 QUALIFIER
England v Republic of Ireland, Carrow Road, 8pm
TV
Watch live coverage and all the build-up on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player from 7.35pm.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On from 6pm.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App.
WEATHER
Expect a cloudy evening in Norfolk, with light rain anticipated during the game. Temperatures at kick-off should hover around 13-14C, with a gentle northwesterly breeze.
The Republic of Ireland’s eight-game unbeaten streak, which came to an end against Wales in a friendly fixture back in February, is starting to feel like a distant memory.
The 2-0 reversal at Tallaght Stadium was the first defeat Eileen Gleeson suffered at the helm before the former Glasgow City boss and her charges embarked on the most onerous of qualification campaigns.
Ireland remain pointless and rooted to the bottom of Group A3 after four games, with their only prospect of securing a place in Switzerland set to come via the play-offs.
The calibre of the opposition Ireland have faced means that their place in the table isn’t as ignominious as it could otherwise be regarded.
France, who top the group on nine points, find only World Cup holders Spain ahead of them in the world rankings. A Sweden side occupying second spot in the table on goal difference are ranked sixth in the FIFA standings, with third-place England the reigning European champions and third in the global football pyramid.
Given those daunting daunting opponents, criticism of the results to date has been muted. However, Ireland fans could be forgiven for being less understanding of a style of play short on creativity. Impotent in front of the posts and having registered just seven shots on target during the campaign, Gleeson’s side have yet to find the back of the net. Goal difference could still prove crucial in securing a seeded place in the play-offs and it will be interesting to see if that manifests in more attacking impetus at Carrow Road.
For Ireland to achieve a positive result on their travels, they’ll need to do a better job stifling the silky skills of Keira Walsh than they managed in Dublin, when England ran out 2-0 victors courtesy of goals from Lauren James and Alex Greenwood.
That task has been made harder due to the absence of suspended captain Katie McCabe and the injured pair of Heather Payne and Kyra Carusa.
Niamh Fahey is once again available after recovering from injury, while Denise O’Sullivan’s return after missing the double-header against Sweden should provide a major boon in midfield.
Matters off the field, namely the fallout from the joint RTÉ/Sunday Independent investigation into alleged unwanted or inappropriate sexual advances from FAI coaches in the 1990s, have overshadowed Friday’s fixture. However, the Ireland boss believes focus won’t be an issue.
“Obviously we’ve had to deal with the documentary dropping in on the day we come into camp and it’s super important those players’ messages are heard and the women in it we support,” Gleeson said.
“The timing offers another challenge for us coming into the camp, so what we have to do is close off the noise because we can lose focus if we listen to all the noise.
“We tried to keep it remaining focussed solely on the games coming.”
Sarina Wiegman’s England side will be cheered on by a 27,000 sellout crowd, knowing that they can’t afford a slip-up ahead of their final group game against Sweden in Gothenburg on Tuesday with just two teams assured automatic qualification from the group.
England welcome back Chelsea defender Niamh Charles and Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Mary Earps from injury at Carrow Road.
Last time out, England secured a 2-1 win against a France side who have already assured themselves of automatic qualification.
Despite being overwhelming favourites, Wiegman is taking nothing for granted against Ireland.
“It’s another important game in our journey to qualify in this period for the Euros,” she told BBC Sport.
“We want to improve our game. All of the teams in this competition have been really challenging. We expect them to be really tough again.
“Of course, we approach every game to win, so that won’t be any different. We want to control the game a little more than we did the last time we played against them.”