Ireland Beat Kazakhstan 4-0 to Set Up World Cup Play-off With Poland

Ireland 4-0 Kazakhstan. The scoreline in Cork on Tuesday night finished a job that was never really in doubt, and it sent Carla Ward's team into a World Cup play-off against Poland in December.

Ireland won the first leg 8-0 in Astana on Friday. The second leg at Pairc Ui Chaoimh made it 12-0 on aggregate, with a second clean sheet to go with it.

How the goals came

Kazakhstan sat deep in a flat back four and held out for most of the first half. Abbie Larkin had an early effort cleared off the line. The breakthrough came in the 40th minute, when centre back Anna Patten crossed to the back post and Jessie Stapleton headed home.

The second half opened up. Katie McCabe scored from distance, Lucy Quinn added a third, and Cork's own Denise O'Sullivan finished the night with the fourth, pouncing after a Stapleton and Amber Barrett move broke down in front of an open goal. A crowd of 10,334 watched at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

Ward rotated her side, bringing back McCabe and O'Sullivan and giving Hayley Nolan a start in defence and Shanade Hopcroft a first Ireland start in midfield.

Poland won the hard way

The other tie went the distance. Poland drew 2-2 with Belgium on aggregate, drew again in extra time, and won on penalties in Gdansk. Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor leads their attack. Ireland beat Poland twice in qualifying in April, 3-2 away and 1-0 at home, but a play-off with a World Cup place at stake is a different weight of game.

What it means

Ireland reached a first World Cup in Australia in 2023. One two legged tie now stands between this squad and a second straight finals, in Brazil next summer. The FAI calendar lists the play-off for December 1 and December 5, with the first leg in Poland and the return expected at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Ward has already called for the biggest crowd yet for that home leg.