IRELAND CAPTAIN Katie McCabe has issued a rallying call to her fellow teammates and said that Ireland have no intention of going into the game with Sweden to lose the tie.
Ireland play the second best side in the world in the Group A World Cup qualifier against Sweden on Tuesday and will give themselves a great chance of reaching the tournament in 2023 with a win.
Ireland have played a game less than Finland and are tied on seven points before the 5.30 kickoff today
The highly-fancied Swedes have won all six of their group games so far and most recently beat Georgia 15-0 and led 11-0 at halftime.
A win or point against Vera Pauw's side will seal their place to the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand
McCabe knows that the Swedes will be favorites for the tie, but isn't about to rollover and believes that neither should her teammates.
Dublin , Ireland - 25 November 2021; Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw, centre, with Katie McCabe, (Photo By Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
"We don't go out playing these games to lose," the captain said.
"You want to come over here and do our best. I'd be gutted if we lost. We know that in qualifying campaigns we need to get big results. For us, it’s a massive game but we also know what we’re capable of.
"We’ll be fully focused on the game plan and giving it 100%."
The 26-year-old also believes that Ireland have more leaders in their team since she acquired her first cap in 2015
"I think I came in at a real pivotal time. We had some great leaders in the team when I first came in, obviously Emma Byrne being our captain at the time", she said
"The last few years we have had some big moments but where we are now, I think it is a real credit to all the players who fought for everything really for women's football in Ireland.
"For us now, the current generation, we need to keep fighting, we need to progress the game at international level and in our league. I still keep an eye on the Women's National League even though I am in London.
"For us to get better as an international team we have to look after our own league and support it."
Come on Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪https://t.co/4NSlB8n22O
— The Irish Post (@theirishpost) April 11, 2022
Ireland's women's national team have never been to a major tournament and there is a strong feeling from the Irish camp that Vera Pauw's side are about to break down the door to get there in 2023, McCabe feels that time is now.
"It's up to us now to do our job on the pitch.
"We got great support from the FAI, there is no chaos behind the scenes, or anything like that where maybe there was a few years ago. It is just up to us to fully focus on what we have to do on the pitch.
"It starts Tuesday night and goes right through to September when the campaign ends."
Ireland's game will be live from 5.30 today and will be shown on RTE TWO.
