Preview: Ireland look to take huge evolutionary step

Back in December, after the Republic had wrapped up their successful UEFA Nations League campaign with a 6-1 hammering of Northern Ireland in Belfast, Louise Quinn talked tactics.

"It's about keeping it for slightly longer periods of time, getting that control when we are in possession, knowing when to turn them - do we go out, do we go out to go in?" she said.

"This is modern football now. It's play, play, play and for us, we want to move forward with that."

Quinn was the latest in a line of senior players to extol the virtues of a more expansive game.

Vera Pauw's departure emboldened them to admit they wanted a change of style; to maintain the solidity that got them to a World Cup, but wed it to increased adventure.

Tonight, Eileen Gleeson has the opportunity to really put this theory of evolution into practice.

They square up to a fantastic France outfit at Stade Saint-Symphorien, the home of FC Metz, with around 18,000 supporters expected.

Manager Herve Renard (above) will leave after the summer's Paris Olympic Games to pursue his ambition of leading a men's team into the 2026 World Cup. He laughed off any suggestion that team could be the Republic of Ireland, joining a long list of candidates who've removed themselves from the race; if they were ever in it at all.

"No, but I think every week some people will find for me a new destination, or maybe every day," he said. "It's not the most important. I will never again respond to any question about my future."

He is determined to leave on a high, and it would be unwise for Ireland to count on France slumping into autopilot for the next few months. The last time they lost on home soil was during the 2019 World Cup, when the USA beat them 2-1 at the Parc des Princes.

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