The Republic of Ireland is gearing up for two football matches today: Eileen Gleeson’s team is on their way to Sweden to continue their Euro 2025 qualifying match, while John O’Shea’s lads are preparing for a friendly match against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium in the evening. Both teams are on the back foot, the women’s team have lost all their group games against top-ranking teams, and the men’s team hasn’t seen a significant victory since their match against Scotland in June 2022. The women will face a tough Swedish team that defeated them 3-0 in Dublin last week, and the men are set to grapple with a strong Hungarian side that has only lost to Italy in their previous 20 games. At least Gleeson’s position as manager is secure, unlike O’Shea who is currently the acting manager. However, he has strong support from his captain, Séamus Coleman, who advocates for him to be officially appointed as manager. Despite these strong endorsements, rumours about Slaven Bilić being a preferable choice for the role are persisting.
In regards to Gaelic games, Michael Murphy comments on the past weekend games, speculating that Dublin is the likely winner for the All-Ireland, especially after recovering from their league final defeat by Derry. As for team Derry, they seem ready for the season to wrap up.
Post their defeat by Cork, the Donegal team is working hard to avoid the preliminary quarter-finals, while Kerry, with their 2 consecutive wins, are content with their position. Brian Ó Beaglaoich shared some insights about Kerry’s progress with Paul Keane.
Meanwhile, Owen Doyle offers a critique on the refereeing in the Champions Cup final, citing an over-reliance on the TMO system. In addition, Johnny Watterson gives a preview of Leinster’s URC quarter-final game against Ulster this Saturday, with the positive news of Garry Ringrose and Charlie Ngatai returning to training this week.
Lastly, as Ireland gears up for the Stateside T20 World Cup, Tector is ambitious to become one of the best batters in the world.
Johnny has come forward with potential changes regarding the rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano which was initially intended to take place in Texas during the following month. Rumour has it that the match may now occur later in the year, with Frankfurt as the anticipated location.
In the world of golf, anticipatory overviews for the coming busy weeks are offered by Philip Reid, focusing on the in-form Rory McIlroy. Simultaneously, Brain O’Connor analyses the probability of Joseph O’Brien, coaching the second European-bred horse to victory in the prestigious US Triple Crown. Thus far, the only individual to earn this honor was Dermot Weld with his horse Go And Go, triumphing the 1990 Belmont.
In broadcasting news, RTÉ 2 offers viewers two back-to-back Republic of Ireland matches today. Proceedings begin with the women’s Euro 2025 qualifier taking place in Sweden, with the game commencing at 5.30 pm. Immediately after, attention switches to the men’s friendly game against Hungary, occurring on home ground with a kick-off time of 7.45 pm.