Ireland to host Australia in international friendly at Tallaght Stadium as fans return

It will be the first home game open to supporters since the win over Greece in March 2020. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

The Ireland women's team will host Australia in an international friendly on Tuesday, September 21, at Tallaght Stadium.

The first meeting between the two teams will come just four days after Vera Pauw's squad kick off their 2023 Fifa World Cup Qualifying campaign away to Georgia.

Currently ranked 11th in the world, Australia finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and possess a roster of world-renowned star players such as Sam Kerr, Cailtin Foord, and Steph Catley.

The game, which will kick off at 7pm, will be broadcast live on RTÉ2 and will be open to a select number of supporters - dependent on Government recommendations around Covid-19 protocols.

Pauw said: "We are excited by this opportunity to play against such a top quality opponent in Australia, especially in front of our own supporters who we will welcome back to Tallaght Stadium for the first time in 18 months.

"This game continues our approach to taking on games that will bring the best out in us, following on from our recent friendly games against Denmark, Belgium, and Iceland. We learned a lot from those games and will be aiming to do the same against Australia, who are one of the best teams in women's football.

"Our focus is on qualifying for the 2023 Fifa World Cup, so getting to test ourselves against a team like Australia will surely benefit us ahead of playing the top two seeds in our group in October, in Sweden and Finland. We will start, however, away to Georgia and that is where our focus is right now."

Australia will be the 49th different nation that Ireland will have come up against and just the second from the Oceania region - following a draw in a Cyprus Cup match with New Zealand in 2014.

It will be the first home game open to supporters since the win over Greece in March 2020. Ticket details will be confirmed in due course.