How will Ireland's first Women's World Cup compare to Italia '90?

Analysis: each tournament's legacy and impact will be seismic for Irish sport and society, but for much different reasons

When we take look at the players, coaches, styles of play, the personality of the two squads and the circumstances of the games themselves, 1990 and 2023 have more in common than we might expect. Both managed by a charismatic, foreign-born coach beloved by the Irish public, in Jack Charlton and Vera Pauw. Both led by brave, tough-tackling captains, in Mick McCarthy and Katie McCabe.

Both playing with a defensive, hard-to-beat style of football, with enough individual talent and flair to upset the odds. Two teams making full use of the Granny Rule, Charlton’s World Cup squad featuring 15 players that were born outside the Republic of Ireland, Pauw’s with 10. Throw in a glamour meeting with the World Cup hosts - Italy back in 1990 in the quarter finals in Rome and Australia in the opening game of the tournament in Sydney this time around - and we can see there are many similarities between then and now.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, current and former Irish women's soccer players, and some enthusiastic young fans, talk to Samantha Libreri ahead of the World Cup.

But so many differences too. When we look back at media coverage of major sporting events like a World Cup or an Olympic Games, whether through books, documentaries, or even episodes of Reeling in the Years, it reveals a lot about where society was at that moment in time. These