Megan Connolly: We want to keep pushing for World Cup ticket

The Girls in Green face Poland again this weekend. 

16 April 2026; Maria Reynolds during a Republic of Ireland women's training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland midfielder Megan Connolly feels Ireland shouldn’t settle for third place as they attempt to kill off Poland’s chase in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier.

Tuesday’s 3-2 victory in Gdansk means that if Ireland repeat the win, and Netherlands beat France again on the same day, then they will be level with the French heading into the final pair of fixtures.

Those are against Netherlands at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on June 5 before travelling to Grenoble in France for the last match four days later.

There’s enough recent history for Ireland to be confident of rattling Les Bleus.

Memories of a rousing 3-1 win in Cork 21 months ago, albeit against a changed French side, galvanise this generation while they were desperately unlucky not to extract at least a point in the Tallaght home meeting last month.

Poland up first, however, before any thoughts turn to negotiating an even easier path to next year’s Brazil finals during the playoff series in the winter.

At the midway stage of the campaign, Ireland hold the upperhand in the minimum target of third.

The triumph to leapfrog the Poles by two points was spearheaded by the Cork combination of Connolly and Denise O’Sullivan in midfield. Marissa Sheva, operating slightly ahead, capped a brilliant performance with what transpired to be the winning goal.

“We want to keep pushing up and looking for second place,” declared Connolly.

“We're coming into this wanting to get a result out of every single game.

“That was the approach when facing the Dutch and the French last month. We proved that we can compete with them but it just came down to the small details in losing both 2-1.

“Poland looked at us as the six-pointer and for us as well but we showcased our style through what we learnt from those first two games.

“Looking across all of League A groups, you can see how close it is between everyone.

“From top to bottom, every third position team is similar to us, and second place is what we’re aiming for.” 

This will be the sixth occasion for the women’s team to grace the national stadium, with ticket sales approaching 20,000 heading into the final 24 hours.

It’s the type of setting that Ewa Pajor has flourished in for Poland and Barcelona. One of Ireland’s biggest successes from Tuesday was suppressing her threat until four minutes from full-time when she lobbed what transpired to be a consolation goal.

Yet hers is the biggest threat to Ireland relinquishing what Carla Ward branded a ‘commanding position’ in the table.

“To come away with three points from such a difficult away game was really important but we know Poland will come out guns blazing,” added Connolly.

“They'll be a lot more front-footed and aggressive. I think the spaces that showed up the other night might not happen again for us so it may need different ways for us to try to break them down.”

Ireland can’t afford either to ignore Ewelina Kamczyk, the Polish midfielder recently headhunted by AC Milan. Connolly and her have already crossed paths in Italy.

“She's a really strong midfielder so I'm glad I was able to cut her space,” said the 29-year-old.

“I don't think Poland showcased their best performance the other night individually and as a team, so I do think that will change on Saturday. They'll have learned a lot.

“The beauty and difficulty of having two back to back games against the same team is we both learn and improve by fixing the little things.

“I think (Kamczyk) will try to get on the ball more to disrupt us but we’ll be prepared.” 

Connolly’s first involvement under the Ward era was in defence during the opening window of February 2025.

That’s her position too at club level but reverted seamlessly for international duty.

“At the start of this World Cup campaign it was tough in midfield because I hadn't played that role for a while.

“Since then, I've had that consistency with Maz and Dee in the middle and you get a lot more comfortable. We know how each other play. 

“That was my position for the majority of my career, firstly at Brighton and Hove Albion and then Bristol City before I gradually kind of transitioned into that defender.

“Even at Lazio, I’m playing a lot in the back three and sometimes back four.

“Yet I still see a lot of the ball at Lazio so that helps when I do make that transition back into the middle, being comfortable receiving the ball under pressure.” 

Flanking O’Sullivan is a dream for any midfielder. “Goodness me, that was Denise’s 130th cap and her standards never drop,” gushed Connolly.

“I don't think Denise has ever had a below average game.

“An Irish team is different without her. We miss her because she leaves such a hole that you really can't replace.

“I love playing with Denise. Honestly, I wish I could play with Denise at club level. I wish I could play with her week in week out because I always know where Denise is. When I give her the ball, she's bound to do something.”