July 26, 2023: Katie McCabe of Republic of Ireland applauds fans after her team's 1-2 defeat in the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match against Canada at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth, Australia.Getty Images
The Ireland Women’s National Team has exited the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after a 2-1 loss to Canada on Wednesday, July 26 in Perth, Australia.
The match came a week after Ireland's "gutting" 1-0 defeat to Australia on the tournament's opening day.
“Defeat against Canada sees us exit the World Cup,” Ireland Football said on Twitter on Wednesday, July 26.
“They gave it everything.”
Defeat against Canada sees us exit the World Cup
They gave it everything 🇮🇪#COYGIG | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/QomrLegFfD
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) July 26, 2023
In a follow-up tweet, Ireland Ireland summed up the mood: “Proud.”
Proud 💚🇮🇪#COYGIG | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/g7mCScHQfn
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) July 26, 2023
While the match sadly ended in defeat for the girls in green, it had started brilliantly thanks to an early goal from captain Katie McCabe.
Not only did McCabe score the Ireland Women's National Team's first goal of their first appearance in the FIFA Women's World Cup, it was the fastest goal of the tournament so far.
KATIE! KATIE! KATIE! 🇮🇪
It had to be her! 👏
The captain put us in front directly from a corner! (0-1) #COYGIG | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/yMVEbMw2xn
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) July 26, 2023
The match became level in the fifth minute of added time when Julia Grosso's cross from the left took a deflection off Megan Connolly to take the ball beyond Courtney Brosnan.
Olympic gold medalists Canada ultimately went in front on 53 minutes after Adrian Leon "controlled substitute Sophie Schmidt's pass into the box and slid home her finish."
McCabe, who was named the VISA Player of the Match, said afterward: "It's bittersweet.
"Of course it's nice to score and get us off to a good start but it's results that matter in this game, at this level and in these type of tournaments.
"I'm heartbroken for the girls and I felt we deserved something from the game. To captain these girls is an absolute honour and an absolute privilege.
"I'm so proud of each and every single one of them, we've done so much to get here and it's about pushing on now."
You can watch back on the highlights of the Ireland - Canada 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup match here: