The men’s World Cup may be underway at the moment, but Ireland’s women’s team have the chance to qualify for next year’s tournament in Brazil.

Carla Ward’s side qualified for the UEFA World Cup play-offs after beating the Netherlands back in May, and have now been drawn against Kazakhstan in the play-off semi-final, before a potential play-off final against Belgium or Poland.

It will be a huge task, with the travel to Kazakhstan and facing two sides in Belgium and Poland who Ireland have narrowly beaten over the past 12 months, but there’s little reason not to think that Ireland could make their second Women’s World Cup in a row.

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Katie McCabe celebrates after she scores her sides 2nd goal. Pic: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

And with that, the FAI are looking to make the most out of the second-leg home advantage they’ll have in both play-off ties. Irish Examiner sportswriter Eoghan Cormican posted on X on Wednesday that Ireland are set to play their home tie against Kazakhstan at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

‘Subject to approval by GAA Central Council,’ Cormican posted. ‘Ireland’s home leg for the World Cup play-off against Kazakhstan on Tues, Oct 13, will be played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. PUC will host the World Cup play-off, Munster’s Champions Cup opener, & the Cork hurling final all in the space of 5 days.’

Set to be a busy few days for the venue in October, but it’s a venue that has brought Ireland a lot of fortune in the past, beating France 3-1 back in 2024 and then most recently beating the Netherlands in June.

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Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

‘You don’t have to ask me twice about Cork,’ Ireland manager Carla Ward said when asked about potentially playing in Cork last month. ‘I absolutely love it down there, and I think the players do too. It’s not been confirmed where we’ll play.

‘Of course, we would love to have one in Dublin and one in Cork. I think that would be the ultimate dream, but we’ll have to wait and see and let the powers that be look after that side of it.’

‘The beauty of it is, I think form will probably go out the window, previous games will go out the window. I think that’ll be a one-off, big play-off final. I think it’ll be a very different game, to maybe what we witnessed in both games at the Aviva. You know me, I’ll always try and get the one-percenters. We’ll certainly use some of that. But yeah, it will be a tough feat, a tough ask, no matter where we play.’