Leanne Kiernan's zen-like calm keeps her universe in balance

Take a walk around Anfield and you won't need to work hard to find Leanne Kiernan.

Her image is emblazoned on the exterior wall of the Kop, spliced into a mural beside Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson.

It's a surreal feeling for Kiernan, who is regularly tagged in social media pictures by Cavan-born match-goers proud to see one of their own celebrated on the walls of the famous ground.

But the 25-year-old isn't exactly one to lose the run of herself. Kiernan is the definition of zen.

At FAI HQ ahead of Friday's huge Euro 2025 play-off first leg against Wales, she's breezy, calm and rooted in the realities of top-level sport.

The twist here is that Kiernan lives with Liverpool teammate Ceri Holland, who fired Wales past Slovakia in the semis with an extra-time goal to set up this international derby.

There will be lots of familiarity between Ireland and the Welsh, but no contempt, insists Kiernan. It's all part of the game.

"To be honest we don't really talk about football at home," she said when asked if there has been any tension between the two housemates over the last week.

"Because it's our job, we come home and there's no football talk - gossip and all but no football.

"I moved up to Liverpool four years ago and they moved me in with Ceri. I didn't know who she was. It worked out well.

"That's life though isn't it? It's football. The best team wins on the day. It'll be tough coming back for one of us. One of the girls goes, 'aw don't worry I've a spare bedroom!'. That's the exciting thing about football, isn't it? You don't know who's going to win."

The stakes are high in Cardiff but Kiernan is so relaxed that it'd be easy to forget she's a tenacious, committed competitor on the field of play.

She was desperately unlucky to