Ireland women under Carla Ward are World Cup ready
Tuesday 9 June 2026 - The women of Ireland are about to take on the women of France in a World Cup qualifying match. Should Ireland win, not only will it mean that the girls in green are going to the next Women’s World Cup, it will send the reputation of their coach, Carla Ward, soaring. Even if they lose this match, don’t forget that name. Carla Ward. She’s on a roll.
GAME TIME PST – Noon. TUESDAY 9 JUNE. Available on various streaming services.
“How big would a win be? I think you would all agree it would be one of the biggest sporting stories in world football,” Carla Ward, manager of Ireland Women's National Team since January 2025.
Improbable but not impossible
“France, yeah. They’re unbelievable but everyone’s beatable. Let’s f**king go,” Carla Ward
The French squad is currently ranked seventh best in the world by FIFA. Ireland’s Women’s National Team (WNT) is ranked 23rd. But rankings aren’t always indicators of future success. In Cork last Friday, Ireland beat the women from the Netherlands, who are ranked tenth. The Irish Independent called it “the stupendous 3-2 win over the dazed Dutch.” “The Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team stands on the precipice of footballing history,” boasted FAI.ie.
State broadcaster RTE has been rapturous in its coverage. “It's a massive week for the Republic of Ireland Women's football team in their FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign. They had amassive win over the Netherlands on Friday, and this Tuesday the girls in green take on France away from home.”
The Ireland Men’s National Team (MNT) came close but failed to qualify for the Men’s World Cup, which begins on June 11. If the Women don’t win tonight, no worries, they still stand a very good chance this fall of making the field for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Carla Ward in her playing days in the Women’s Premier League.
Not her first rodeo
Carla Ward has five wins and one loss during her tenure as manager of Ireland’s WNT. She got into coaching in 2017 after a hell of a career as a player in the Women’s Premier League. In 2025 she worked on the staff of the US Women’s National team when it won gold at the Paris Olympics.
She’s English. Born on the Isle of Wight in 1983. Grew up playing street soccer with the boys of her council estate (projects). “I, as a player, I was a 10, I liked to play football a lot. I was an attacking player and I liked to go score goals.” (At one point in her playing career she had 100 goals in 200 appearances.)
She’s raising a daughter. An article in Evoke.ie filled in the details when she was announced as Ireland’s new manager in January 2025. “Carla is mum to daughter Hartley, who turns seven this month. Like every mum, Carla, who is separated from Hartley's mum, has had to juggle her demanding schedule with motherhood and says the 'hardest decision' she ever made was to step away from Aston Villa to focus on her family.” You can see a photo with the article of her with Hartley and Prince William when she managed the women’s squad there. He’s a HUGE Aston Villa fan.
A complete report on the outcome of the IRE v FRA match will run in Thursday’s PDX Hibernian Independent.