Lord of the Dance
Ireland captain Katie McCabe says that Ireland reaching their first ever World Cup 'doesn't feel real'
Football

Ireland captain Katie McCabe says that Ireland reaching their first ever World Cup 'doesn't feel real'

IRELAND'S CAPTAIN KATIE McCabe had admitted that she struggling to understand with the fact that Ireland are going to their first ever World Cup. 

Vera Pauw's side beat Scotland 1-0 in Hampden Park on Tuesday night thanks to Amber Barrett's late winner, and with that history was made for the Girls in Green. 

Because of other results in other game thar went Ireland's way, a win in Glasgow would grant the Irish team their ultimate wish of reaching the finals in Australia and New Zealand in 2023. 

After the game, an elated McCabe spoke to RTE Sport and said, "We're going to the World Cup - book your tickets!" 

The Tallaght native paid special tribute to each of her teammates that helped the dream become a reality on the night.

A special mention was given to Courtney Brosnan for her penalty save against Caroline Weir, Denise O' Sullivan's role in the winner, and Donegal native Barrett's cool, calm, and collected finish.  

"I'm speechless. It doesn't actually feel real to be honest. I'm just so proud of the girls," McCabe said afterwards. 

"We worked our socks off tonight. This one [O'Sullivan] covered every inch of Hampden. Everybody was unbelievable - Courtney with the penalty save, Amber coming on, scoring the goal... we're going to a World Cup!" 

Ireland for large parts of the qualifying campaign have become a team well renowned for its dogged style ad ability to dig deep in times of immense pressure. The 1-1 draw with the number two ranked side in the world Sweden in Gothenburg last year being a key example of this.  

McCabe defended Ireland's style of play in the same interview and felt that the proof was in the pudding when it came to the outcome 

"People might not like our style of play with the defending, but we love it. We love to defend, we're passionate about it, it's our identity, "she said. "We catch teams out on the counter-attack like we did tonight. That's our strength. 

"It gets results, we've been on a great run so far. To come here, a difficult place to come, away from home, we had our travelling fans here. We were up against it tonight, we were the underdogs - but we always are, and we love it! We get results and prove people wrong and we're going to a World Cup now. 

"We love [defending]. We're in control. We might not look in control, but we are - we could do it until the cows come home."