'It's a very sacred thing' but Katie McCabe wants positive result to mark 100th Ireland appearance

ON THE BALL: Katie McCabe during a Republic of Ireland women training session at The King Power at Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven, Belgium. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

On the eve of her 100th cap, Katie McCabe admits Friday’s epic win will be forgotten if the Ireland team she captains blows their lead in Belgium.

Ireland take a 4-2 first-leg buffer to Leuven for a tie that will influence the route to potential back-to-back World Cup appearances in 2027.

Arsenal’s Champions League winner McCabe was the inspiration on a special night at Lansdowne Road, scoring twice, creating another for Marissa Sheva and having her hat-trick goal reclassified by Uefa as an own-goal.

Belgium, unlike Ireland, have never featured at the women’s World Cup but three European Championship appearances in a row reflects their status as a League A nation.

Unless Ireland capitulate in the second leg, they will swap places with the Red Flames – pitting them against the bigger guns in next year’s qualifiers but in the knowledge a backdoor route to Brazil via the playoffs is assured.

Belgium will have mainstay duo Justine Vanhavermate and Jill Janssens returning from suspension, conscious of restricting the space McCabe thrives on when roaming the left flank.

Extra-time and penalties will apply at the 10,000-capacity Den Dreef Stadium if required to discover which team enters the November 4 draw among the top-16 in Europe.

“Friday was incredible”, noted McCabe. “Over the whole night, we had those goals to share with our fans. But it means nothing if we don't get a result tomorrow night.

“So my sole focus is ensuring we're prepared and ready to go mentally as a team.

“We know what we're going into, which will be a very strong Belgian team. They’ve got two players back from suspension as well, so we need to be ready.”

The 30-year-old will become the eight female centurion when she leads the time into battle against the Belgians, following Emma Byrne, Ciara Grant, Áine O'Gorman, Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn and Denise O’Sullivan into an exalted club.

For all the accolades she’s received over almost a decade at Arsenal, both individually and collectively, representing Ireland is what McCabe deems precious.

“First and foremost, when you are wearing that green jersey, there is a weight and a responsibility,” she explained.

“It's a very sacred thing and not everybody gets the opportunity to do that.

“So, to say I'm about to do it for a 100th time tomorrow night is a massive honour and something I'm very, very grateful for.

“And if I look at the girls who've done that before me, only seven, they are absolutely legends of the game.

“They’re players that I've looked up to my whole career and learned a lot from.

“With that comes responsibility. There will be younger players looking up to me and seeing what I do on and off the pitch; how I carry myself, how I behave in and around camp.

“I don't take that lightly. I make sure I'm doing the right thing, staying professional and working as hard as I possibly can when it comes to games. All I can do is give my all.

“And I've no doubt about it, come tomorrow night, that every player selected tomorrow will be doing that, and it's not just the girls in the starting 11. It's the impact off the bench, the girls that don't make the squad.

“It's that whole sort of glue structure around the team that is really, really special.

“In fact, it's unique. It's different from club football because it's your country. This is a really special, sacred thing; something I'm very proud of.”

Anna Patten is likely to come into the Ireland team after being suspended for the first leg.

Given both holding midfielders, Denise O’Sullivan and Ruesha Littlejohn, had scant club gametime before starting on Friday, the defender might even be deployed as one of the pivots.

“Our backline did tremendously well so it's a good problem to have,” stressed Ireland manager Carla Ward.

“It's a headache. Whether Patsy starts or comes on, she's massively valuable for the team.

“I’ve played her in midfield on the odd occasion when we were together at Aston Villa. Patsy is a top footballer, an intelligent footballer, so you could put Patsy anywhere.

“Towards the end of training on Sunday, I saw her up top.”

Staying on top of the tie is what will define this camp for Ireland.