Ireland Women Cruise Past Kazakhstan 12-0 on Aggregate to Reach World Cup Play-off Final Against Poland
The Republic of Ireland women's football team beat Kazakhstan 4-0 in Cork on Tuesday to complete a 12-0 aggregate victory in their Women's World Cup play-off semi-final, BBC Sport reported. After an 8-0 first-leg win in Astana, Carla Ward's side won the return at Páirc UíChaoimh, where Ireland's record now stands at played four, won four.
Ireland will face Poland in the play-off final, with the second leg at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in December. Poland edged out Belgium 4-3 on penalties after their tie finished 3-3 over two legs. The two sides were paired in qualifying Group A2 and know each other well: Ireland won 3-2 in Gdańsk on April 14 and 1-0 in Dublin four days later, when midfielder Marissa Sheva scored the winner in front of a crowd of over 18,200 at the Aviva. Poland, who sit seven places behind Ireland in the FIFA rankings, are seeking a first World Cup appearance.
Ward said she will not use the Euro 2025 play-off defeat by Wales at the Aviva in December 2024 as fuel for her players. "We've come a long way since then. I ask you lot to never mention Wales again in the next window — let's forget about it. It would be great if you could," she said. She added that Poland will be targeting "revenge," that the team needs "our biggest crowd yet" in December, and that the squad now has depth and competition for places.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 都柏林阿维瓦体育场，12月附加赛决赛次回合将在此举行。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，Tarafuku10 摄，公共领域
