Northern Ireland manager Michael Mc Ardle admits his side's chances of beating Portugal in the 2027 Women's World Cup play-off semi-final have "gone from improbable to impossible" after a 4-0 defeat at Inver Park. The hosts were well beaten and face a mammoth task to overturn the four-goal deficit in Tuesday's return leg in Portimao.
Northern Ireland trailed 3-0 at half-time, as a Telma Encarnacao penalty, a Jessica Silva finish and an own goal from Rebecca Holloway gave the visitors a comfortable lead. Catarina Amado was sent off for a second yellow card with 26 minutes left, but Fatima Pinto's goal gave Portugal a commanding advantage. Cora Chambers was also dismissed for Northern Ireland in added time, and she will miss the second leg after grabbing the hair of Carolina Correia.
Mc Ardle, who took over in March, said the scoreline was "sore" and that "it hurts," though he pointed to positives. Without captain Simone Magill, Laura Rafferty and Nadene Caldwell, he handed a debut to defender Jane Mc Master and first caps to Kess Elmore and 16-year-old Charlotte Havern from Cliftonville. He described the decision as brave and essential for developing younger players and sustaining future qualification efforts.
The Scot said his players would "hurt for the next 24 hours or so" before regrouping. A play-off final would most likely be against Iceland, who also won their first leg 4-0 in Croatia.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing