Job done in Gdansk with Tuesday’s 3-2 win, now for the return game against Poland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (3pm) in the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying group.
So far, 16,000 tickets have been sold for the game, twice the record attendance at the team’s more regular haunt of Tallaght. But while the FAI are hoping for a bigger uptake as kick-off approaches, there will still be banks of empty seats. Megan Connolly is, though, more than content with the venue switch.
“At the start it was a big difference going from Tallaght to the Aviva, Tallaght had been our home for so long,” said the Cork woman. “There were difficulties in that initial transition phase, but we’ve played there enough times now that it feels like home too. Everybody’s really comfortable playing there.”
“So I don’t think there’s anything negative at all about playing in the Aviva. The transition phase is over, so there are no growing pains. I prefer playing at the Aviva, it’s a top-quality stadium, the surface, everything. And I would rather 16,000 fans – and more – can come to our games, even if the stadium will have that echo around it.”
She will also welcome playing on a top-quality pitch after what resembled a furrowed field on Tuesday. “To put it nice and gently, the pitch in Gdansk wasn’t the best. It will be a big improvement for both teams, we can both play a lot more football on the floor.”
The crowd of 35,944 at the Republic of Ireland women’s debut at the Aviva Stadium in September 2023. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
It will be Ireland’s sixth appearance at the stadium, just under 36,000 turning up to see their first there against Northern Ireland in September 2023, interest in the team on a high after their World Cup finals debut that summer. But last time out, a little over 14,000 attended the Nations League play-off against Belgium, admittedly on a chilly October night, the failure to qualify for Euro 2025 putting a sizeable dent in the public’s enthusiasm for the team.
As a resident of Rome, where she moved in 2024 when she joined Lazio from Bristol City, Connolly is more than familiar with the cost of failing to qualify for major finals – her neighbours are still melting down after Italy missed out on making it to the World Cup for the third time running.
“And you saw it with our men, that was heartbreaking that they didn’t get over the line. But we know we have to get back to qualifying for major tournaments, that’s where we want to be, we want to be on the world stage. And you can see what getting to a World Cup can do for a nation, so we need to do it again.”
Even if they were to finish behind France and the Netherlands in their group, and even behind Poland too, Ireland would still be guaranteed a chance of qualifying through the play-offs – in what is, to say the least, a convoluted process.
Megan Connolly of Republic of Ireland and Ewelina Kamczyk of Poland battle for the ball. Photograph: Mateusz Slodkowski/Getty
If they can beat Poland on Saturday, though, they’ll be all but assured of at least third in the group, thereby ensuring a kinder playoff draw.
“We know how much this game can define our campaign. It’s a six-pointer for us, but it is for them too. They’re going to come out all guns blazing. When you play a team back to back in a window, both games can be so different, so that’s where any ounce of complacency can really cost you. We can’t just expect this to be a repeat of Gdansk, but nothing’s going to change in terms of the fight, the aggression and the determination to get those three points.”
Ireland’s previous appearances and attendances at the Aviva Stadium
October 2025: Belgium, 14,180
September 2023: v Northern Ireland, 35,994
April 2024: v England, 32,742
May 2024: v Sweden, 22,868
December 2024: v Wales, 25,832
October 2025: Belgium, 14,180