UEFA Women's Nations League 2025
Slovenia v Republic of Ireland, SRC Bonifika Stadion, Tuesday, 5pm.
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Similar weather to Ireland for this time of year. Rain is forecast in Koper with temperatures of around 10c come kick-off time, with almost no wind.
Ireland seek to continue winning start
Carla Ward's first game in charge of the Republic of Ireland ended in triumph as they claimed a 1-0 victory over Turkey in Tallaght Stadium in their Nations League opener.
Kyra Carusa's first-half header was enough for Ireland to take the win against Turkey but Ward will have seen plenty of room for improvement after a match which Ireland dominated but struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
Turkey's stubborn defensive approach was difficult for Ward's side to break down and Slovenia look likely to offer a different kind of challenge for Ireland, with both sides eager to get the ball down and attack.
Slovenia started their Nations League campaign win an impressive 2-1 win away to Greece on Friday after they came from behind to take all three points.
Greece went in front on 26 minutes, with Veatriki Sarri finding the net. Slovenia were level six minutes later courtesy of Maja Sternad. Zara Kramzar scored what proved to be the winner on 67 minutes.
Ireland travel with no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to Slovenia and while several players sat out training on Sunday, they are expected to be ready for Tuesday's clash.
Liverpool striker Leanne Kiernan will miss the game however, having failed to recover fully from a calf injury that forced her to miss the Turkey game.
Ward has resisted the temptation to call up a replacement, having previously said that Celtic striker Saoirse Noonan was "very close" to being included in the initial squad.
Ward expecting a different challenge
While Ward admitted that her opening day victory over Turkey was a difficult game, made tougher by a surface that had seen 120+ minutes of play the night before, she believes that Ireland are in for another tricky match, albeit one of a different nature.
Slovenia, who currently top the Nations League group on goal difference, are a more expansive side with players plying their trade across European football and the Ireland boss believes that spectacle at least should be better.
"Slovenia are a top side," said Ward. "Their age groups are showing that, every single age group is improving in their rankings. The first team are no different. They're a good side, they've got players with Champions League experience.
"But if I'm honest I think this type of game will be better than the game against Turkey. Why? Because you've got two teams who want to play football. There will be spaces that open up which naturally makes for a better game. It'll be a very different game but it will be a tough game because they've got an abundance of quality."
Ward admitted to being frustrated by the lack of chances created against Turkey and spoke of how the group has worked on improving in that area ahead of the clash with Slovenia.
"I have a very clear way of playing, the players can see that," she said. "It's trying to continue getting those messages in but we are going to try and look at something that will allow us to create more because we didn't create enough (against Turkey).
"We looked at it, five shots in the first half, none in the second. That's an area that we've focused a lot of our work on the last couple of days both on and off the pitch."
Youthful Slovenia aim to shock Ireland
Like Ireland, Slovenia suffered disappointment in their pursuit of a place at this summer's European Championships after they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Austria in their qualification play-off.
That play-off defeat was all the harder to take for Slovenia given the nature of their qualifying group, which they won with a 100% record without conceding a goal. However the quality of their opponents - Latvia, North Macedonia and Moldova - did appear to have left them undercooked for the two-legged tie with Austria.
Nevertheless, the qualifying campaign helped to return some positivity to the national team set-up after previous manager Borut Jarc left in controversial circumstances in 2023.
In July of that year, 31 Slovenian international players signed their names to a letter demanding the removal of Jarc with accusations of inappropriate behaviour and comments within the camp.
Jarc resigned shortly after a was replaced by Sasa Kolman who went on to take Slovenia through that perfect qualifying group campaign.
Kolman spent time at the Celtic Football Academy during his early days as a coach, where he met Jim McGuinness, a man he credits with inspiring him to pursue his path in football coaching.
"10 years ago I've met a person in Glasgow who inspired me the most to follow my dreams...and now we met again. It's been privilege to talk to Jim McGuinness again," Kolman said after bumping into the Donegal boss at an FAI coaching education event in 2022.
The Slovenian manager has a talented young squad at his disposal with plenty of threats for Ireland to worry about.
Teenage winger Zara Kramzar was on the mark against Greece and looks set to cause problems for Ireland down the left flank, while Werder Bremen forward Maja Sternad is their big goal-threat and will likely lead the line with Kramzar and Eintracht Frankfurt's Lara Prasnikar supplying her from out wide.
Such is the age profile of the Slovenian squad, that captain Dominika Conc is the only player in it over the age of 30. The Como midfielder, who can also operate as a defender, offers tactical nous and some real steel and her link-up play with attacking midfielder Kaja Korosec is something Ireland will have to wary of.
