Next July the 2023 World Cup gets underway and the Ireland womens football fixtures are sealed.

After qualifying for the tournament for the first time ever after beating Scotland in a Play Off last October, Irish football fans have been waiting patiently to see our opponents.

With the first outing on July 20^th, 2023 the Ireland womens football fixtures get off to a tough start against hosts Australia, before a very testing second game against Canada and a final outing against African heavyweights Nigeria.

Despite the big time differences between Ireland and Australia, each game is on at a very respectable time, meaning we will all get to tune in.

In this blog we’ll give you the time, dates and venues for the Irish womens football team World Cup, as well as a breakdown of their group stage opponents.

Ireland Womens Football Fixtures Group B

Game 1

Australia v Republic of Ireland

11am (Irish time) in the Allianz Stadium

Game 2

Canada v Republic of Ireland

1pm (Irish time) in nib Stadium.

Game 3

Republic of Ireland v Nigeria

11am (Irish time) in Suncorp Stadium

Ireland Womens Football Fixtures: World Cup Opponents

Australia

World Ranking: 12

Star player: Sam Kerr

Manager: Tony Gustavsson

As co-hosts of the tournament with New Zealand, Australia were automatically placed in Group B and didn’t have to go through a qualification route.

Nicknamed ‘The Matildas’, they have also never made it past the quarter-final stage.

The nature of the draw means they will play all their three group games on home soil, giving them a significant advantage against what is expected to be a huge crowd going by ticket sales to date.

Their biggest threat is their captain, the talismatic Sam Kerr who is also their all-time leading goal scorer.

The Chelsea star is the only female footballer to have won the Golden Boot in three different leagues and three different continents – The W-League (Australia/New Zealand), the NWSL (North America) and the FAWSL (Europe).

They also boast other WSL stars such as Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord and Man City’s Hayley Raso.

Canada

World Ranking: 6

Star Player: Christine Sinclair

Coach: Bev Priestman

The Canadians are most likely to top the group and are a serious World Cup contender after winning the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

They managed to go through 2022 unbeaten, with the exception of a 1-0 loss to reigning world champions and neighbours the USA.

Their captain, Christine Sinclair, is the world’s all-time leader in international goals scored across the mens and womens game with 190 after 300 caps!

Sinclair has also scored at five World Cups and is a 14-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year.

They are stacked with WSL players, such as Man United winger Adriana Leon, Chelsea duo Jessie Fleming and Shelina Zadorsky, along with Spurs defender Kadeisha Buchanan.

Nigeria

World Ranking: 45

Star Player: Asisat Oshoala

Coach: Randy Waldrum

A former powerhouse of African women’s football, Nigeria come into the tournament in poor form.

A fourth place finish at the last Africa Cup of Nations was deemed a very result – considering they won 11 of the previous 13 tournaments it’s easy to see why.

But there is no doubting that they have some really quality, none more than Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala.

Regarded as one of the greatest African female footballers of all time, she has won a record 5 African Footballer of the Year awards.

Last year, she was nominated for the Ballon d’Or after a season where she won the Primera Division’s Golden Boot, and a year after winning the Champions League.

Conclusion

To find out more about the Republic of Ireland womens team, check out our Ultimate Guide to the Players right HERE.

Or else, why not check out our FAI range below?

Thanks for reading.