Ireland have trashed Kazakhstan 8-0 in what was a substantial victory in Astana on Friday afternoon to all but secure a place in November’s playoff final.
Ireland had led 5-0 at the break on what turned out to be a very comfortable outing for the girls in green.
They opened the scoring in the 7th minute through Carusa who latched onto a cross from Mustaki to give Ireland the lead.
Kazakhstan were given an even larger mountain to climb in the 33rd minute when Myasnikova saw her yellow card upgraded to a red by VAR for a cynical foul on Larkin.
From there Ireland were ruthless in front of goal with goals from Mustaki, Murphy, Larkin and a second for Carusa giving them a five goal lead at the interval.
Jamie Finn added a sixth in the 58th minute with a beautifully guided header before a debut goal from Crystal Palace midfielder Hopcroft made it seven.
Irish centre-back Stapleton completed the scoring in the 90th minute with a perfectly placed header at the back post from a cross from Larkin.
It was Ireland’s largest victory under Carla Ward since she took charge in February 2025 and the team’s largest victory since an 11-0 win over Georgia in 2021.
The return leg takes place on Tuesday in Cork where Ireland will be looking to score more goals and cement their place in November’s playoff final against either Belgium or Poland.
