I have a word of Warding

IRELAND BOSS CARLA URGES HER TEAM NOT TO BELIEVE THAT THE JOB'S ALREADY DONE

- BY MARK McCADDEN

CARLA WARD has warned that Ireland cannot sit back on the two-goal cushion they claimed against Belgium in last Friday's Nations League playoff first leg.

The Girls in Green roared to an impressive 4-2 win at Aviva Stadium a result that saw them put one foot back in League A ahead of next year's World Cup qualifiers.

However, Ward warned that they will face a much tougher challenge from Belgium in Leuven tonight.

It is a venue in which they have picked up wins against Greece, Ukraine and England in recent times.

And given they are seven places higher than Ireland in the FIFA rankings and featured at Euro 2025 this past summer when Ireland failed to qualify Ward cautioned against thinking that the job is done. "We've got to treat it like a completely separate game of football that we've got to try and go and win," she said, weighing up the challenge ahead.

"It's as clear as that, you know, we don't even look at Friday night in terms of where we're at with a two-goal lead, we simply look at another game of football."