Ireland Beat Kazakhstan 4-0 to Set Up World Cup Play-off With Poland

Ireland 4-0 Kazakhstan. The scoreline in Cork on Tuesday night finished a job that was never really in doubt, and it sent Carla Ward's team into a World Cup play-off against Poland in December.

Ireland won the first leg 8-0 in Astana on Friday. The second leg at Pairc Ui Chaoimh made it 12-0 on aggregate, with a second clean sheet to go with it.

How the goals came

Kazakhstan sat deep in a flat back four and held out for most of the first half. Abbie Larkin had an early effort cleared off the line after goalkeeper Angelina Portnova got a touch, and Larkin, Denise O'Sullivan and Katie McCabe all went close as Ireland looked for the zip they had found so easily in Astana. Emily Murphy cut inside and forced Portnova to palm a shot away. The breakthrough came in the 40th minute, when centre back Anna Patten crossed to the back post and Jessie Stapleton headed home into the bottom corner, racing in from the left side. It was Stapleton's second goal in as many starts, and The Halfway Line's ratings noted she could have had a hat-trick on the night.

The second half opened up after two half time changes. Marissa Sheva and Tyler Toland came on and lifted the pace, with Sheva rattling the post from the edge of the box. McCabe scored from distance just after the restart, calmly placing the ball in the bottom corner after Murphy played it inside. Lucy Quinn added a third, cutting inside and firing low after Toland ghosted into the box to set her up. Cork's own Denise O'Sullivan finished the night with the fourth, pouncing after a Stapleton and Amber Barrett move broke down in front of an open goal. Barrett's through ball had put Stapleton in, Portnova saved, and O'Sullivan fired home the loose ball in front of her home crowd. Hayley Nolan tested Portnova from distance late on, but 4-0 was the final count. A crowd of 10,334 watched at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. At the other end, goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan had very little to do.

Ward rotated her side, making four changes from the first leg. She brought back McCabe and O'Sullivan, rested Kyra Carusa and Caitlin Hayes, gave Hayley Nolan a start in defence, her first start since Hungary last November, and gave Shanade Hopcroft a first Ireland start in midfield after Hopcroft scored with her first touch off the bench in Astana. Chloe Mustaki, player of the match in the first leg, dropped out of the squad entirely.

Poland won the hard way

The other tie went the distance. Poland drew 2-2 with Belgium on aggregate, drew again in extra time, and won on penalties in Gdansk. Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor leads their attack. Ireland beat Poland twice in qualifying in April, 3-2 away and 1-0 at home, but a play-off with a World Cup place at stake is a different weight of game.

What it means

Ireland reached a first World Cup in Australia in 2023. One two legged tie now stands between this squad and a second straight finals, in Brazil next summer. The FAI calendar lists the play-off for December 1 and December 5, with the first leg in Poland and the return expected at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Ward has already called for the biggest crowd yet for that home leg.