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Abbie Larkin’s 90th-minute winner for the Republic of Ireland promoted the Republic of Ireland to League A in the Nations League, according to Katie McCabe, who described her experience as “goosebumps.”

After the first leg, Carla Ward’s side, which had been influenced by captain McCabe, led 4-2, but Tessa Wullaert’s two goals ended the two-goal lead.

The Republic of Ireland won 5-4 on aggregate after the game appeared to have reached extra time when Larkin scored in the 90th minute.

It’s unbelievable to score winners like that. Even talking about it makes me feel goosebumps, McCabe told RTE.

They are “big, big moments,” he said.

In the 2027 World Cup qualifying, Larkin’s goal gave the Irish a direct chance to reclaim League A and earn a play-off spot.

The 20-year-old forward’s breakthrough moment came when she made her 2022 debut by making an impact play.

“Larko has spent some time with and around us.” She has really grown and matured over the past few years, McCabe continued. She has been fantastic for Palace.

McCabe won her 100th cap in Leuven on a night to celebrate.

She also made her 50th appearance in a game that ended in defeat for the opposing team.

The 30-year-old expressed her desire to become the eighth woman to achieve the feat for the Republic of Ireland, but her main focus was on the WSL match between her club side Arsenal and Leicester City over the weekend.

“My full focus is back on my club, but we’ll enjoy the celebrations in the changing room.”

“Of course, I’ll enjoy the experience with the staff and the girls.” I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. It holds a lot of significance.

Irish manager Ward praised her players all the more, saying that the goals conceded, while being “disappointing,” weren’t mentioned in the half-time team discussion.

She stated that the main questions were about how to make improvements, how to change their system, and how to make players believe.

“We needed to have some faith, and we needed to go.” Ward told RTE Sport, “It was a happy, calm half-time, and the reaction was fantastic.

The girls “deserve a lot of credit” for digging in and doing so.

The Irish, who qualified against the Euro 2025 champions England, France, and Sweden, are now in a top tier position.

Ward says she wants to see more top-notch opponents when the draw is conducted so they can continue to improve.

She said, “We want to compete against better teams and have shown that we can do so.”

We want to put ourselves in the shoes of others. Playing against the best only leads to better results.

A DeLorean might be parked outside the large glass front door if you showed up at Celtic Park today.

The iconic Back to the Future film series is celebrating its 40th anniversary in theaters, but it’s the Scottish champions who are choosing to take a step back in time after Brendan Rodgers abruptly resigned as interim manager 20 years later.

After reading the news on Monday, Rodgers and Dermot Desmond’s scandal spilled into the public domain via Celtic’s largest shareholder’s statement, which was so box office-heavy that it almost sucked up the most air.

Rodgers had resigned, Celtic’s initial statement on Monday stated. Desmond then reiterated this in a statement while also making a broadside of the former manager.

The club’s upper echelons were the first to respond in kind with a public account from Rodgers.

The now-deceased Celtic manager has been repeatedly questioned about the lack of transfer activity and the quality of those who were actually hired since the summer and has responded to questions since.

How did Rodgers feel after the transfer window closed? At his press conference on September 12th, he proclaimed “Empty.”

In the same media opportunity, he continued to mention “cowardly” deeds from a club insider who claimed to be attempting to create a career for himself.

He also racked up lyricism about how much he cherished Desmond.

His team needed to support him without a doubt: Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi both sold, while Jota’s long-term injury has severely hindered his recovery.

This has grown worse as a result of key player injuries and new players struggling to make an impact.

Only three summer recruits contributed to Hearts’ Sunday defeat.

Rodgers was deeply disappointed with his squad’s standard and his disappointment that he did not receive the desired level during the transfer window.

Okay, but it’s undeniable that his team hasn’t been performing at their best under his recent leadership.

Only just before the Champions League championship match, Celtic were just seconds away. With extra time beckoning until the 94th minute Alphonso Davies aggregate winner, they were 1-0 up against Bayern in Munich.

Celtic have won 31 games since that time. In 14 of them, they gave up a lead in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen, which they failed to win.

The Parkhead squad is valued at £115 million, according to Transfermarkt. Hearts, the league leader, is valued at just over £16 million, to put that into context.

You’d only pay £6 million for the Dundee squad, presumably, if they won the game against Celtic.

In O’Neill, they have done it once more, though only as an interim option, just like Celtic did when Ange Postecoglou left for Tottenham.

When promoted Falkirk travel to Celtic Park, he will be joined by his former teammate Shaun Maloney in the home dugout. He is regarded as one of the club’s most well-known managers in the past.

All those present will experience a surreal scene, none more so than O’Neill himself.

He described how, when the call came in to enter the breach and had ten minutes to decide, he had to “pull myself up off the floor.”

The 73-year-old is the only Celtic manager to have the highest win percentage, and he was on the verge of clinching two more league titles as well as a Uefa Cup title in 2003.

Names like Craig Bellamy, Kieran McKenna, and Postecoglou are already mentioned as Rodgers’ long-term replacements.

Fans should be looking forward to seeing Falkirk win, especially since a section of the fanbase has been actively protesting against the club’s board and a second demonstration is planned.

On Sunday, Rangers will play in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden.

The two managers in the first Old Firm meeting of the season will not attend the second meeting just two months later, which is quite incredible.

For the first time in their history, both clubs have parted ways with their managers during the same campaign.

By the time the third Old Firm game is played in the new year’s eve, there is a real chance that there will be a third player in the Celtic dugout.

The players’ concerns are not the past or the future; rather, it is the present.

O’Neill and Maloney need to change the narrative right away, lifting the storm clouds. That would undoubtedly happen if they won their next two games.

Scott Robertson’s side will have the opportunity to record games against Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales over the following four weekends, but aside from that, the records will be used as a gauge to gauge the team’s progress as a head coach two years after taking the reins.

The absence of a clear style, lingering debates over selection and coaching decisions, and other factors have all contributed to the perception that the sport’s most recognizable team is in flux right now.

In a summer series known as “a tour like no other,” New Zealand will face South Africa in New Zealand next year in addition to the Rugby Championship.

There is little doubt about who has recently gotten the better of what marketers have referred to as “rugby’s greatest rivalry,” which has historically been the game’s two strongest sides.

The Springboks have won two World Cups, three Rugby Championships, and three series matches against the British and Irish Lions, all of which are considered to be their generation.

In the 2019 and 2019 World Cup quarter-finals, New Zealand defeated Ireland in a game that was crucial. They have only lost two of their 21 meetings with England, have defeated Wales twice since 1953, and have never lost to Scotland.

However, they will continue to be criticized for their inability to be the game’s gold standard.

The All Blacks won 87% of their Test matches in the decade and won the Webb Ellis twice, but the balance of power changed during the World Cup of 2019 as a result.

In their opening match of the tournament in Japan, New Zealand defeated South Africa, but the Boks won in Yokohama in the end.

The “Boks” have also won five of the seven meetings between them, including the 2023 World Cup final, while the “Boks” have also won five of those meetings.

Rassie Erasmus’ side won the most recent southern hemisphere title with a record 43-10 defeat over the All Blacks, which has sparked another round of debate about the direction of the side under Robertson.

The fact that South Africa’s success has been allied with their usual power has a more attacking bent that is more typically associated with their own side will be the most jarring to supporters of the All Blacks.

When the All Blacks were at the height of their dominance ten years ago, they were a brutal counter-attacking force capable of annihilating opponents at any position and time.

Their attacking style is less defined today as Robertson, who has made 19 debuts in his two years in charge, tries to establish the more prosaic foundations of a successful side.

Jason Holland, the assistant coach in charge of attack, will step down after the autumn tour, making him the second player on Robertson’s ticket to leave after Leon MacDonald left last year after just five Tests.

The lack of a crossover star may have made that task more difficult. Although Ardie Savea and the Barrett brothers are still well-known, the star concentration has never been greater. Savea is the only All Black player to have won the award for “World Player of the Year” in six years, compared to 10 other All Blacks in 13 years between 2005 and 2007.

Instead, efforts have been made to bring the All Blacks into previously untapped territories.

New Zealand will travel to Chicago for the first leg of this “Grand Slam” tour, returning to the Soldier Field venue where Ireland won the first game for the first time in nine years.

The All Blacks have also played the Springboks in Twickenham and Fiji in San Diego since Covid-19’s travel restrictions have been lifted. The final of the four Tests against South Africa in 2026 will also take place in a nearby venue.

However, such a schedule is unlikely to ease Robertson’s situation as he attempts to recreate the levels of a decade ago in the present while simultaneously developing a team capable of winning the World Cup in Australia in two years.