The loss of Denise O’Sullivan and Emily Murphy to suspension for a vital World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on June 5th has been offset by Katie McCabe being in the form of her life. That’s the view of the Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward ahead of two matches in four days – the second coming against France in Grenoble on June 9th – which could secure direct qualification for Brazil 2027.“If Katie was English, I think everybody would be saying right now she should be in the Ballon d’Or conversations,” said Ward.[ Suspended duo Denise O’Sullivan and Emily Murphy included in Ireland squad for final World Cup qualifiersOpens in new window ]“It blows my mind that she’s not. She’s the best left back in the world. Is there any better full back in the world right now? I’m not sure there is. I think any club not wanting Katie is bonkers.”McCabe will leave Arsenal this summer after an 11-years stint in North London which saw the Ireland captain win every available trophy, including the Champions League last year. The 30-year-old has also been named in the Women’s Super League team of the season.“I would argue the last four camps have been the best we’ve ever seen Katie in an Ireland shirt and an Arsenal shirt,” Ward continued. “So she’s got to be at her peak. Katie trains like she’s a 21-year-old hungry for success.”Katie McCabe will leave Arsenal this summer after 11 years at the London club. Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images Ward said women’s football has yet to sufficiently evolve for the analytics used in the men’s game, particularly around a player’s age, to be a major factor in signing talent. “The problem you have now is you haven’t got managers signing players as such, not everywhere, but you have recruitment people in the club who look at numbers. They don’t look at clips, they look at data.“The women’s game isn’t there yet. They look at age profile, and say the age profile isn’t what we want, instead of [who is] the best performing player in that position in the world right now. It is mad, and I have seen it at a club, I won’t say where, that have wasted an absolute bonkers amount of money because of what the data suggested. The human side is lost.”Ward was uncharacteristically reticent when asked about the work being done by the FAI to develop young female talent since her appointed in January 2025. At Ward’s first press conference last year, the former Aston Villa manager said she had a plan that could help to bridge an ever-widening gap between the League of Ireland and professional clubs in England.Sixteen months on, however, the plan remains under wraps. The FAI, under its new director of football John Martin, has yet to implement programmes in important areas for female development. There is no timeline for the creation of an Ireland under-23 squad, or to revive home-based sessions which happened regularly under former Ireland manager Vera Pauw before the 2023 World Cup. FAI chief executive David Courell previously said “budgetary constraints” were the reason for shelving the home-based sessions in Abbotstown.Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho “There has been positive conversations with John,” said Ward. “We had a meeting with [the head of women’s and girls football] Lizzie [Kent] the other day, so during the summer we will try to bang our heads together. I am not sure that it will be [under-]23s, but it will be something that can broaden our options, so to speak.”Noting the same conversations were happening in 2023 around what women’s football in Ireland needs to remain competitive at senior level, Ward was asked if the FAI are moving quickly enough to upskill the coming generation of players.“I can’t answer that,” she replied. It is accepted by Ward and the FAI that League of Ireland clubs are not equipped to ensure teenager girls are able to cope when they sign for a professional club abroad.“The clubs can’t do it. I think there’s a lot of contributing factors that I believe could make things better. I’ve said to you for the last year, I’ve got a great idea, but...”Is it down to financial constraints? “No, I wouldn’t even say it costs that much money.”Ward recently completed the Uefa pro-licence with her thesis focusing on the lack of female coaches in the men’s game.“The one club that really surprised me was Leeds United. They’ve got a female in every department. When I said to Adam Underwood, who’s the sporting director, ‘That’s really interesting,’ he said: ‘They all go home to women, so why shouldn’t we give that familiarity.’ I thought that was interesting.“I think they are just a very open club, a very diverse club, which I love. I walked away thinking, ‘Wow, what a football club you’d want to work for.’”Republic of Ireland squad (v Netherlands & France)Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic), Grace Moloney (Sunderland).Defenders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Aoife Mannion (Newcastle), Jessie Stapleton (West Ham), Chloe Mustaki (Nottingham Forest).Midfielders: Denise O’Sullivan* (Liverpool), Tyler Toland (Durham), Megan Connolly (Lazio), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Ruesha Littlejohn (Crystal Palace), Jamie Finn (Sunderland), Aoibheann Clancy (Shelbourne), Jess Ziu (West Ham).Attackers: Saoirse Noonan (Celtic FC), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Emily Murphy* (Newcastle United), Kyra Carusa (Kansas City Current, loan), Amber Barrett (Strasbourg).*Suspended for Netherlands fixture