Eileen Gleeson embracing 'absolute honour' of Aviva pressure

If the first leg of the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2025 play-off against Wales was a bit of a phoney war, then prepare for an all-out battle at Aviva Stadium tomorrow night (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm).

Friday's contest in Cardiff was cagey and absorbing, but proceedings fizzled out somewhat in the last 20 minutes with both sides perhaps content to head for Dublin all square.

Wales fancy this. Ireland fancy this. And neither country is inclined to take a backwards step in the physicality stakes.

There was certainly enough needle in the first leg to suggest this winner-takes-all showdown at Lansdowne Road is going to be feisty. A flashpoint involving Ruesha Littlejohn and Jess Fishlock brought things to the boil; while Katie McCabe got in a couple of tangles with Liverpool's Ceri Holland that left a sour taste.

"They were cheap shots more than anything," McCabe said this afternoon when asked about the skirmishes. "I don't mind going toe-to-toe with someone in a tackle but ones off the ball I'm like, 'come on'.

"Look, whatever game they want to play, we’ll be prepared for it tomorrow. For us, I know I’m repeating myself, but we know what we have to do. We know what’s on the line and what’s at stake. We’ll be ready to leave it all out there."

The FAI said on Monday morning that over 25,000 tickets have been shifted so the Girls in Green can expect a partisan, vocal backing.

Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson has no fresh injury concerns and aired her own belief that her players have another gear in them.

"There were certain things we were unhappy with," she said. "(It was a) scrappy game, a battle between two teams. We want to create more chances and score more goals. Some areas to work on but the game evolved into what we