Preview: No more safety nets as night of high drama awaits

On the eve of tonight's Euro 2025 play-off between the Republic of Ireland and Wales, the FAI issued a press release entitled: 'Women and girls' football continues rapid rise'.

The stats and figures listed paint a positive picture.

The growth is obvious and will continue no matter what happens at Lansdowne Road tonight. But this international derby does feel like it has a set of sliding doors elite women’s football in this country could pass through.

After the 2023 World Cup, one of the FAI's targets was to bring through younger players, with an eye on the 2025 Euros, the 2027 World Cup and beyond. And yet the average age of Gleeson's starting XI against Wales in Cardiff last Friday was just under 30.

The inclusion of 37-year-old Niamh Fahey bumped that up, but Heather Payne (24) was the youngest Irish starter, and by the time the next World Cup rolls round, there's a chance the squad could be backboned by an ageing core. Katie McCabe will be 31, Denise O'Sullivan 33, Courtney Brosnan 31, Kyra Carusa 31, Louise Quinn 36, and Julie-Ann Russell 35.

So Ireland are at a crossroads. Making a second major tournament on the bounce would be a shot in the arm and of course represent another barrier smashed: the Girls in Green have never reached a European Championships.

However, defeat against the Welsh could derail the momentum they've worked so hard to build, while also opening up questions around Gleeson's future. Her contract expires after Ireland's involvement in the Euro 2025 campaign is over.

Wales are in a similar place to where Ireland were three or four years ago. They were unlucky not to reach the World Cup, suffering a heart-breaking late play-off loss to Switzerland. But driven by a charismatic foreign coach in Rhian