The Republic of Ireland women's national football is headed States-side this summer for friendly matches with the U.S. on June 26, at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, and on June 29, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, the United States Soccer Federation has announced.
These will be the first meetings between the two nations since April 2023 when the U.S. swept a pair of games in Austin, Texas, and St. Louis ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Irish are a side chock full of players from England’s Women’s Super League like Arsenal FC’s Katie McCabe, the team captain, as well as long-time North Carolina Courage star Denise O’Sullivan.
“Ireland is one of the most difficult European teams to play against, so I’m happy we could get these games,” said U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. “We need to play teams that will push us and create an environment where our players have to solve problems and play under pressure.
"We’re still early in our process of building towards World Cup qualifying for [the 2027 World Cup] and we still have a lot of growth to go as a team and as individuals, so these summer matches at these great soccer venues will once again provide a platform for the players to show their abilities to excel at a high level.”
The Irish have lost all 15 previous games against the U.S. women.
Ireland fell to Wales in its 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro Playoff series, 3-2, on aggregate and thus will miss the continental championship this summer, making it available to play the USA in this FIFA window.
Irish team boss Carla Ward, a long-time head coach in the England Women’s Super League, served as a scout for Emma Hayes’s staff during the 2024 Olympics in France.
