Eileen Gleeson declines to address Republic of Ireland future after Euro 2025 exit

Eileen Gleeson’s tenure as Republic of Ireland manager concluded with the expiration of her contract following the team’s Euro 2025 campaign. After her side’s 3-2 aggregate loss to Wales, which eliminated them from contention for Euro 2025, Manager Eileen Gleeson declined to comment on her future in the Republic of Ireland position. Wales secured a 2-1 victory in the play-off second leg held in Dublin, thanks to Hannah Cain’s penalty in the 50th minute and a goal from substitute Carrie Jones. This result prevented the Irish team from qualifying for a spot in Switzerland, unlike their successful qualification for last year’s World Cup. When questioned about whether she would continue in her role, Gleeson stated, “I’m not thinking about that tonight, we have a team who are devastated at the fact that they are not going to the Euros.” The Ireland manager’s contract officially ended with the conclusion of the Euro 2025 campaign, despite her having indicated before the play-off that she was interested in remaining in the job. She further commented, “I’m not talking about anything else other than the game tonight. We’re going to pick ourselves up and we’ll go again.” Gleeson added, “We have to go again, women’s football will not stand still. It’s a setback and a major disappointment, obviously.” Notably, Gleeson did not offer congratulations to Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson after the final whistle. During the subsequent post-match news conference, she accused the Welsh bench of “a lot of provocation.” Gleeson elaborated, saying, “There were reactions to that as well. It was a team challenge to manage across the night.” She also highlighted that her captain, Katie McCabe, was subjected to several strong challenges, which ultimately led to a reaction from the Arsenal star, resulting in a yellow card. She described the alleged behavior as, “A lot of shouting at players, aggressive language to our staff.” Republic of Ireland goalkeeping coach Emma Byrne also received a yellow card during the match. The Wales manager mentioned that she had attempted to speak with Gleeson at full-time. However, the Ireland manager countered, “I didn’t see Rhian. She didn’t come near me, I didn’t go near her, I was with my team.” Wilkinson, for her part, dismissed Gleeson’s comments. The Wales boss remarked, “There’s always some words occasionally. A team has to win and a team had to lose and there’s high emotions but I also think that’s football.”