France hit back to deny Republic of Ireland historic win — and more

Women's European World Cup Qualifiers

Republic of Ireland 1 - 2 France FT

Substitute Melvine Malard scored twice as France came from behind to defeat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in their opening Women's World Cup qualifier in Dublin.

McCabe netted in the 12th minute to give Carla Ward's side the perfect start as France struggled to contain the hosts.

Captain McCabe, who is expected to leave Arsenal at the end of the season, raced on to Emily Murphy's pass to fire into the bottom corner.

The organised Irish defence frustrated France, but the introduction of Malard sparked a comeback at Tallaght Stadium.

The Manchester United forward netted two minutes after coming on to bring France level, and she struck the winner with 11 minutes left after the Republic of Ireland failed to deal with a corner.

Denise O'Sullivan thought she had struck an injury-time equaliser but Marie-Antoinette Katoto's superb header off the line sealed the win for France.

It was a disappointing result for Ward's side in League A2 despite a strong performance, and they will now look to bounce back in the Netherlands on Saturday in their bid to repeat their historic qualification for the 2023 finals.

The Dutch were held to a surprise 2-2 draw in Poland in their opener, and both sides will be under pressure to kick-start their respective campaigns.

Republic of Ireland fade after McCabe opener

It was a superb first-half performance from the Republic of Ireland, who put France under pressure from the early stages.

Megan Connolly's free-kick forced Constance Picaud into a strong save, and Anna Patten should have opened the scoring when she headed straight at the French goalkeeper from the resulting corner.

Murphy also had a great opportunity for an early opener when she brought down Aoife Mannion's long ball with a superb touch but her finish lacked power and Picaud easily saved.

McCabe's opener was well deserved as she won possession in her own half and found Murphy, who raced forwards with the ball.

The Irish captain continued her run into the area and Murphy found her with a neat reverse pass, and McCabe fired low into the net to spark wild celebrations.

At the other end, France were limited going forward as Clara Meto and Sakina Karchaoui fired well wide in the visitor's best chances.

The pattern continued after the restart as the Irish defence stifled France, who were limited to half opportunities, including an effort from Sandy Baltimore that flew way over the bar.

Patten's header from a McCabe free-kick was clawed away by Picaud, and O'Sullivan nearly scored a superb goal as her flicked effort fell just short of beating the French goalkeeper.

But France equalised when Malard danced inside McCabe and slotted into the bottom corner past Courtney Brosnan.

The Republic responded well and Murphy almost got on the end of McCabe's ball into the area and, at the other end, Chloe Mustaki had to be alert to cut out a dangerous cross.

However, Malard struck the decisive goal after a scramble when the Republic failed to deal with a corner.

O'Sullivan almost grabbed a dramatic equaliser when she fired towards goal after a goalmouth scramble, but substitute Katoto headed off the line, before she was mobbed by her team-mates for the intervention.

Analysis - Irish show they belong in top tier

When the Republic of Ireland were last in League A for Euro 2025 qualifying, the highlight was their 3-1 victory over France in Cork - the only win of that campaign.

For large parts of their World Cup qualifying opener, it looked like they would repeat that historic win as they frustrated and, at times, dominated France.

There may be doubts over her club future, but McCabe's important for the Irish cannot be understated and her opener set the tone in a blistering start.

However, Ward's side tired in the closing stages and the ultimate lack of strength in depth compared to France proved costly, as Malard showed.

There were concerns over knocks to O'Sullivan and McCabe, who also picked up her first yellow card of the campaign, but both players played the full 90 minutes.

But the Republic are on the right track and, after becoming the first League B side to win promotion with a play-off victory over a top tier side in Belgium last year, there are plenty of positives to take from their opener.

They were left without anything to show for their efforts, but Ward's side have shown they belong in the top tier and will look to back that performance up in the Netherlands on Saturday.

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The former heavyweight champion, who vacated his title when he retired in June, is reportedly negotiating a deal to face Pereira, who recently vacated the light heavyweight title. The fight may be for the interim heavyweight title given Tom Aspinall's uncertain return.

The event, billed as a 250-year-anniversary celebration of American independence, features Jones as the only American fighter with sufficient reputation to carry the flag for the occasion. President Trump's 80th birthday coincides with the event.

A.J. Brown trade rumor from ESPN stinks for Bills, Patriots, 49ers, Raiders originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

A.J. Brown's future with the Philadelphia Eagles is still a hot topic of discussion, but the latest rumors aren't good news for receiver-needy teams, such as the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, and Las Vegas Raiders.

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, the Eagles are open to trading Brown, but need an offer they can't resist and want to keep the star wideout on the roster for the 2026 season.

Graziano adds that if a team isn't willing to give up at least their first-round pick this year for Brown, it isn't worth calling Philadelphia.

Teams have contacted the Eagles about a potential Brown trade, but word is that Philly's asking price remains too high. This lines up with what I heard about the Eagles' stance: They'd be open to the right offer, but it would have to be a really good one. They don't want to just get rid of Brown or need him off the team for any chemistry reason.

The Eagles will always listen to trade offers, but if they're going to move Brown, it sounds like they'd have to be blown away. If you're not ready to talk about at least your first-round pick, I don't think that conversation is getting very far at the moment.

Though Brown hasn't been an overly dominant playmaker over the last two seasons, he's still one of the best players in football when at his best and a legitimate top receiving option.

Brown's rough 2025 campaign, filled with drops and a few other needless distractions, has placed his future in Philadelphia in question.

However, it sounds like the Eagles would prefer to keep him around rather than trade him, and the Bills, Patriots, 49ers, and Raiders will have to look elsewhere to fix their receiver issues.

Buffalo and Las Vegas lack true No. 1 wide receivers, and that must change, especially with the Bills in a window of contention and the Raiders kickstarting a new era by likely selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first pick in April's draft.

New England and San Francisco could also use more talent at receiver, and could've been suitors for Brown.

There's still a chance the Eagles trade Brown, but with the asking price incredibly high and Brown still holding value in Philadelphia's offense, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he isn't catching passes in an Eagles uniform in 2026.

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Cardinals reportedly grew frustrated with Murray, who is owed $36.8 million in guaranteed money. The quarterback played in just five games last season before suffering a foot injury, with backup Jacoby Brissett performing well in his absence.

Murray arrived in Arizona with high expectations after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma. He had notable moments including the "Hail Murray" play in 2020 and led the team to a 10-2 record in 2021, though they faded down the stretch.

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There is an important meeting this week about the future of college football. Sorry, there are actually two meetings this week. The one you may be thinking of is the highly publicized one that is scheduled for Friday at the White House. The far more important one was a secret. It happened in Dallas with powerful people from college football in attendance. This meeting was with Smash Sports, an extension of the investment group Smash Capital. It focused on the pitch to consolidate all of college football’s media rights. Ross Dellenger reports what is going on behind the scenes with this meeting. Andy Staples and Steven Godfrey join the conversation to discuss the impact of this meeting, the impact of consolidation and what the chances are something like that could happen. 

Then, Andy, Ross and Godfrey continue the conversation discussing how a situation like this would play out and who else would need to be involved for it to work. They talk about what kind of impact Paramount buying Warner Brothers could have on this type of deal, and the college football world in general, and the share how they think a resolution will ultimately be determined.

Later, the guys discuss Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel coming out in support of a 24-team playoff. This is in direct contrast to the model that the SEC is supporting. The guys discuss the impact of a coach in the SEC taking this stance and how the playoff discussion will continue to evolve. All of this and more on today's College Football Enquirer.

Photo by CFP/Getty Images

0:00:00 - College football's secret meeting in Dallas

9:53 - The other meeting at the White House

11:39 - Impact of private equity's involvement in CFB media rights

21:54 - Impact of consolidating media rights

28:43 - Could Paramount buying Warner Brothers affect college football?

34:45 - Which side will win the media rights battle?

42:33 - Josh Heupel supports 24-team CFP

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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