2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

[NeverFeltBetter]

Played very well last night, took the chance when it came and stood up well in the following 20 minutes, didn't give Scotland much of a sniff. It's not pretty football at times, but that make it hard for teams nominally better than them, and that will be important next summer you feel.

Tbh I didn't give the team much of a chance after the results started to come in in the group stage, the whole process seemed so convuluted and difficult for sides like Ireland, so this result is all the more remarkable and praise worthy, a real defining moment for women's football in this country.

But jeez, this nonsense with the chanting. Bad enough chanting "Up the 'Ra" like some stupid teenager adding lyrics to "The Fields Of Athenry", but in Glasgow. They couldn't have picked a better way to turn the positive headlines negative.

[paul_oshea]

Thanks Paul for your positive input!:) Pauw has the team play to its strengths and that is good enough for me. Just like with Big Jack.

Completely meant it as positive, theres sinister nefarious elements who would poo poo a style of play than seeing us achieve big dreams of WC qualification. They know who they are.

When I read that this morning about those chants I thought oh girls ye conducted yerselves so well, great interviews, articulate and well spoken and then all undone by a few singing silly chants.

[Fixer82]

Over-excited, not thought out and silly but so what? it's not the end of the world. They didn't mean it and let's let them celebrate. They've apologised, let's move on.

Also, whoever videoed that and put it on social media should get a slap!

[seanfhear]

Is it for the Royal and Ancient Golf ?

[NeverFeltBetter]

The very quick and multiple mea culpas from those involved is a fairly evident indication that they know it was a stupid thing to be seen singing, and will help in terms of drawing a line underneath a very regrettable addition to the great result. I'm not going to get into a debate on how much we should or shouldn't be praising the IRA as an historical entity that at one time represented the military forces of a democratically elected government, as a terrorist organisation, as a semi-organised group of murderers or whatever else anyone thinks the various subcategories and spin-offs were or are. What I will say is that entitles like the WNT need to be a bit savvier about how they conduct themselves. They really are in the big time now.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Also, whoever videoed that and put it on social media should get a slap!

I might not go that far, but whomever it was, and they should be identifiable, should be spoken too alright. What happens in a dressing room should stay there.

[Diggs246]

I might not go that far, but whomever it was, and they should be identifiable, should be spoken too alright. What happens in a dressing room should stay there.

It was a player and she is crying in her room as per vera

[tetsujin1979]

Over-excited, not thought out and silly but so what? it's not the end of the world. They didn't mean it and let's let them celebrate. They've apologised, let's move on.

Also, whoever videoed that and put it on social media should get a slap!
The account name of the player who live streamed it is at the top of the video. Can't see any player being allowed to stream from the dressing room again.
Remember the photos of the players with the President after beating Bosnia? That's basically all that will be permitted from now on.

[Fixer82]

The account name of the player who live streamed it is at the top of the video. Can't see any player being allowed to stream from the dressing room again.
Remember the photos of the players with the President after beating Bosnia? That's basically all that will be permitted from now on.

Yep.
And that?s the way it should be.
In the age we live in, trusting dressing rooms to be PC/SFW etc while streaming from your phone just doesn?t fly.

Dressing rooms should be a sacred space.
They?re often not for the faint hearted

[Eminence Grise]

I get the whole being caught up in the moment of it. But it’s heedlessness in this day and age to be singing that 5hite anyway I’m sure the same players learned eeny eeny miny mo catch a tiger by the toe, not the saltier version some of us did, and they wouldn’t be caught dead doing the old one. Amber Barret (all hail!) being a teacher would definitely know that. So they know what’s what, and what to avoid especially in sectarian Scotland – imagine the outrage we’d have if the Scots team started into ‘the famine is over, why don’t you go home?’ in their dressing room. Heedlessness, not malice.

But they can’t be get a free pass for it. I’ve a PR background – I’d have it f%&!ing drilled into them: That. Song. Is. Out. You don’t make a cross for your own back.

No surprise, though, to see professional contrarians wilfully out of step and bigging up the IRA in response.

[Jd2793]

stupid to record it, no issue with them singing it.

[culloty82]

Granted, dressing rooms aren't going to be picky about such things, but the biggest crime was probably against musical taste!

https://genius.com/The-wolfe-tones-celtic-symphony-lyrics

[Eminence Grise]

It shows how influenced we are by modern media

Apparently we aren?t allowed to achknowledge the IRA in any positive light but at the same time we must at our respects to a queen who?s monarch caused terror on this island for centuries?

Or by any objective study of history.

It's as incomprehensible to fetishise terrorism as it is to tug the forelock at someone whose ancestors sponsored state terror. Proper republicanism would dismiss both, Irish republicanism is a ba5tardised mish mash of ideas that without 'Brits out' glue to hold it together falls apart.

This will be gone from the news cycle by tonight. Thankfully. It's a distraction from something we should be celebrating caused by a few people not engaging their brain in the heat of the moment.

[elatedscum]

The Brits will be awful upset when they find out what our anthem is about?

[tetsujin1979]

This is getting too political, and way off topic. If you want to compare and contrast the Republican and nationalist values of various songs, take it to the current affairs folder
If you want to continue discussing the implications of the Irish women's team singing the Celtic Symphony, you can do that here

[D24Saint]

Glorifying those who killed innocents regardless of the wording. It all amounts to the same thing.

This is a football website. Surely political rants should be taken to twitter.

[Fixer82]

It was silly. Especially for a team that?s essentially a United Ireland team from the whole island.
It doesn?t exactly make the team a welcome proposition for players from a different background.
Never forget our history and the sacrifices of those who died for their vision of Ireland but it?s time to move on somewhat.

Well done to the ladies. Looking forward to cheering them on.

PS the irony of them wearing that dodgy orange kit while singing ?Celtic Symphony? wasn?t lost on me :)

[geysir]

Considering the age of the women, I seriously doubt they had a grip on the sense of the add on chorus.
The CS is a Celtic support tune 100%, with a republican add on chorus line, not a pro IRA song.
Nevertheless, it was a good thing Alan Kelly (concern for his blood pressure) wasn't in the dressing room:)

A truly magnificent night for Irish football, not just to qualify for the WC but to do it in such controlled style away from home and after a group campaign where they clawed their way back into contention by deservedly beating the 2nd seeds, both home and away and even managed to nab an unlikely draw against one of Europe's top teams. Considering the DUP inspired furor, the retort is "there's only one women's team in Ireland"

[ramondo]

Neither is the air of Billy boys. But when you chant oh ahh up the Ra it's the same thing

Indeed, it's how it sounds, which is very much a stuck-in-the-past kind of sound.

Anyway, if it wasn't for all the ruckus I wouldn't have found out about it, so well done Ireland.

This means an extra interest for my Aussie daughters next year. Might even get me to a game.

[Glen Of Aherlow]

Sure at least its a load of publicity and money for that 10th rate bunch of hacks The Wolfe Tones

[TonyD]

Granted, dressing rooms aren't going to be picky about such things, but the biggest crime was probably against musical taste!

https://genius.com/The-wolfe-tones-celtic-symphony-lyrics

Indeed. I wasn?t familiar with the song in question (though I knew the chant of course, lifted from ?ooh ah Paul McGrath? , or ?Oops upside your head.? For those of us old enough) so I checked it out this morning. What a steaming pile of dung, regardless of any political opinions.

[D24Saint]

Sure at least its a load of publicity and money for that 10th rate bunch of hacks The Wolfe Tones

You’ll find they are first rate hacks at the moment in the charts. They are on the road again.

[JR89]

You’ll find they are first rate hacks at the moment in the charts. They are on the road again.

Celtic Symphony at number 1, 2, 17, and 36 in the Irish iTunes chart. It's number 2 and 15 in the UK iTunes chart. Should rerelease it for the Christmas charts for the ****s and change the up the ra part to ooh ah up na mn?.

Come Out Ye Black and Tans at number 12, Sean South at number 15, and Boys of the Old Bridge at number 34.

[samhaydenjr]

Mostly my feelings on this are surprise and disappointment - I really didn't expect the women's team to be doing this sort of thing. Sure, it's not a disaster, but it is out of order for any modern national team representing Ireland on the National Stage to be chanting Up The 'Ra. It's a "Little Ireland" attitude, the sort of attitude that the women's team actually campaigned against when they protested the ridiculous conditions they had to perform under a few years ago.

On the other hand, it is kind of fun knowing that they have outraged the sort of people in Britain who regularly use the phrase "political correctness gone mad"

[Insidetherock]

Indeed. I wasn?t familiar with the song in question (though I knew the chant of course, lifted from ?ooh ah Paul McGrath? , or ?Oops upside your head.? For those of us old enough) so I checked it out this morning. What a steaming pile of dung, regardless of any political opinions.

Another one of the "oh this was lifted from Oh Ah Paul Mc Grath" crew

You do know Celtic Symphony was released before the Paul Mc Grath chant... and the Paul Mc Grath chant became popular because it fitted the beat timing of the CS refrain

Right?

[ForzaForth]

Assuming everyone's fit (I'm leaving out Jess Ziu as she'll do well to get over her ACL in time), I've eighteen on the plane to Aus/NZ leaving only five spots up for grabs:-
GKs: Brosnan, Moloney, Walsh;
DEFs: Finn, Fahey, Quinn, Caldwell, Campbell, O'Riordan;
MIDs: O'Gorman, Agg, O'Sullivan, McCabe, Littlejohn, Connolly;
ATTs: Payne, Barrett, Kiernan.

[tetsujin1979]

Lucy Quinn should go as well

[culloty82]

Good to see from the Medialive TV ratings website today that the Scotland game averaged 340,000 viewers, and their audience measurements don't include under-15s, so the "true" figure will have been significantly higher.

[TonyD]

Another one of the "oh this was lifted from Oh Ah Paul Mc Grath" crew

You do know Celtic Symphony was released before the Paul Mc Grath chant... and the Paul Mc Grath chant became popular because it fitted the beat timing of the CS refrain

Right?

Nope. When was Celtic Symphony released ? The chant originated with Oops upside your Head by the Gap Band, released in 1979.

[Stuttgart88]

A Tory MP has just mentioned the singing at PMQs...

[seanfhear]

A Tory MP has just mentioned the singing at PMQs...
He must Not have much important stuff to be worrying about.

[gastric]

He must Not have much important stuff to be worrying about.

Or he is just trying to avoid the s##tshow that has enveloped the Tories!

[Stuttgart88]

In fairness, it was a pre-amble to a comment on the NI Protocol and highlighting the importance of peace etc. It wasn't just an isolated reference, there was some appropriate context to the comment though I don't think it's entirely fair how he presented it "ROI women's team caught singing pro-IRA chants" though it's quite a semantic argument.

[tetsujin1979]

Group stage draw tomorrow morning at 7:30, live on RTE2 and fifa.com
https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/wnt-set-for-2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-draw
New Zealand, South Korea, Ireland, and Zambia would be nice
US/England, Brazil/Netherlands, Ireland, and Group A winners(probably Portugal) would be a nightmare
Note - if we draw another European side, we can't face Portugal, no more than two European teams in one group.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Australia, Canada and Nigeria. Could have been worse, could have been better.

[tetsujin1979]

When the draw was being made, I wanted Group A - New Zealand and Norway - and to avoid Group E - USA and Netherlands - so when Costa Rica were drawn out for group B, I was disappointed, only for them to be moved to Group C so they can't be in the same group as Canada!
I'm happy enough with Group B. Australia were my second choice from Pot 1, Canada were the highest ranked side in Pot 2, and Nigeria were the highest ranked side in Pot 4.
It's quite even, and you can see each team taking points from each other.

[gastric]

Being labelled the group of death in Oz. It's a fair statement considering we beat Australia last year and Canada the Olympic champions beat Australia over here recently. We will get lots of publicity as Oz/ROI is the opening game which is exciting. Will certainly try and get to it.

[Neish]

Tough draw, but not impossible

[tetsujin1979]

It's a tough group, but not as bad as group E - the USA, Netherlands, and probably Portugal, or group D - England, China, and Denmark
Either of those could see a tournament favourite out after the group stages

[JR89]

Could have been easier, could have been harder. Best described as a tricky draw. As Tets said a draw that's quite even and will see teams taking points off each other.

Runners up in the group will likely play England who you'd except to top group D. Travel wise if we finish second we remain in Brisbane for the last 16 game, and travel back to Sydney if we top the group.

[tetsujin1979]

It's a lot of traveling between the games
1583805500549799938

[nigel-harps1954]

Talk about ridiculous planning.

[pineapple stu]

Just as well flying thousands of miles isn't a contributing factor in this climate change thing no-one's talking about...

[tetsujin1979]

Schedule Confirmed
https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2c8301d5ae03b60/original/Match-Schedule-FIFA-Women-s-World-Cup-Australia-New-Zealand-2023.pdf

Date
Opposition
Location
Local time
Irish Time
World Time Buddy



Thursday, 20th July
Australia
Sydney
8pm
11am
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/?qm=1&lid=2147714,2964574&h=2147714&date=2023-7-20&sln=20-21&hf=1


Wednesday, 26th July
Canada
Perth
8pm
1pm
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/?qm=1&lid=2063523,2964574&h=2063523&date=2023-7-26&sln=20-21&hf=1


Monday, 31st July
Nigeria
Brisbane
8pm
11am
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/?qm=1&lid=2174003,2964574&h=2174003&date=2023-7-31&sln=20-21&hf=1

[NeverFeltBetter]

Good to see we won't be needing to be up in the middle of the night anyway.

[tetsujin1979]

The opening game against Australia might be moved to the 83,500 capacity Accor Stadium: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/matildas-world-cup-opener-to-shift-to-83-500-seat-accor-stadium-20230112-p5cc01.html

According to that article, the fifth highest attendance at a women's game ever is 80,203, which could be passed by the change in stadium.

[tetsujin1979]

Over 500,000 tickets have been sold for the women's World Cup, and that Ireland have sold the ninth most tickets for the tournament
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/over-half-a-million-tickets-sold-for-fifa-womens-world-cup-2023-tm

[nigel-harps1954]

Probably would have sold much more if it weren't for the ridiculous allocation for the opening game.

[Eirambler]

When you consider how many Irish people living in Australia will have bought tickets also, we'll definitely be well supported at the tournament. Wouldn't have expected that many to travel over to it though, being honest.

[Snoop Drog]

When you consider how many Irish people living in Australia will have bought tickets also, we'll definitely be well supported at the tournament. Wouldn't have expected that many to travel over to it though, being honest.

Does anyone know of anyone travelling for this?