Preview: Ireland end jam-packed year with tricky derby

The Republic of Ireland will take to the field at Windsor Park this evening for their 14th game of an action-packed 2023.

Katie McCabe has described it as her "favourite year to play in a green shirt", which sums up the temperament of the team's captain and biggest star. There have been many highs: a first appearance at a World Cup, the historic Aviva Stadium defeat of Northern Ireland, a successful Nations League campaign.

But there have been testing times too as tensions bubbled towards the end of Vera Pauw's reign and the squad experienced some negative public kickback after the Dutchwoman departed.

McCabe has been central to all of that drama, but she's such a strong character that the 28-year-old seems unmoved by the negatives, hellbent on driving her country back to another major tournament.

The bigger the occasion the better as far as McCabe is concerned. She wants to lead Ireland to Euro 2025 and make a genuine impact once they get there, with the springtime qualifiers set to pit the Girls in Green against some of the best teams in Europe, given they'll be among the top seeds thanks to their Nations League exploits.

First though, they head to Belfast for the final game of what has been a straightforward campaign.

Five wins from five, 14 goals scored, one conceded, the group won with two games to spare - it has been mission accomplished for interim-manager Eileen Gleeson, who has also brought some fresh faces into the camp along the way.

"We've had our goals and our objectives for this campaign," Gleeson said on the eve of the collision. "Do we want six from six? Absolutely."

This clash with the North looks likely to be their toughest game since the World Cup as Tanya Oxtoby's improving team target a win that would