Ireland's World Cup route: one match left

Beating Kazakhstan was never going to be the hard bit, and Ireland got the job done to book their spot in the play-offs. Captain Katie McCabe isn't wasting energy on it either. According to BBC Sport, she's already talking about locking in for the game that decides everything.

One match, one ticket

There's no group table to hide behind here and no second leg to recover from a bad night. Ireland play Poland once, somewhere, at some point still to be confirmed, and whoever wins goes to the World Cup. Whoever loses goes home and starts thinking about 2030.

That clarity is either terrifying or clarifying depending on how you're wired, and McCabe sounds like someone who's chosen clarifying. The Arsenal captain has been Ireland's talisman for years now, and this is exactly the kind of fixture her career has been building towards: a federation desperate to make that 2023 World Cup debut in Australia something other than a one-off.

Why Poland is the real test

Kazakhstan were there to be beaten and Ireland beat them. Poland is a different calibre of opponent entirely, and everyone involved knows a single bad half can end the campaign. There's no margin for the kind of slow start Ireland have shown in previous windows. It's one leg, one result, and nothing else counts.

For a country that only reached its first major women's tournament a couple of years ago, getting back to the top table so quickly would be some statement.

What's at stake

Qualification would mean a second World Cup appearance in three cycles for a team that spent decades watching tournaments from outside. McCabe, 30 and still the heartbeat of this side, would captain Ireland into a second global finals. That's the version of history on offer here, and it comes down to ninety minutes, maybe extra time, against Poland.

No venue, no date confirmed yet. Just the fixture itself, hanging over everything Ireland do between now and whenever it's played.