Australian football fans have been waiting three years for this moment, but their first match at the Women's World Cup they are hosting is finally just around the corner.
The Matildas will begin their most highly anticipated World Cup campaign in history cheered on by 80,000 fans at Stadium Australia, as they look to start with a win against World Cup debutants the Republic of Ireland.
It won't be an easy clash, with Ireland actually defeating the Matildas when the sides last met, but backed by a passionate home crowd and with a strong run of form behind them, Australia will fancy themselves to get off to a strong start at their home World Cup.
The Sporting News has all the details on how fans around the world can tune into this exciting football match.
MORE: Live Blog: Australia vs Republic of Ireland
What time is Australia vs. Republic of Ireland?
Australia's opening match at the Women's World Cup begins at 8:00 p.m. local time at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
- Date: July 20
- Time: 8:00 p.m. AEST (6:00 a.m. ET)
The game takes place just three hours after the opening match of the tournament, which will see co-hosts New Zealand go up against Norway in Auckland.
Here is how the kickoff times translate into various timezones around the world:
| Timezone | Time |
|---|---|
| Australia (AEST) | 8:00 p.m. |
| New Zealand (NZT) | 10:00 p.m. |
| USA (ET) | 6:00 a.m. |
| UK (BST) | 11:00 a.m. |
| Singapore (SGT) | 6:00 p.m. |
| Malaysia (MYT) | 6:00 p.m. |
| Hong Kong (HKT) | 6:00 p.m. |
| India (IST) | 3:30 p.m. |
MORE: Matildas final World Cup squad
Australia vs. Republic of Ireland TV channel, live stream
With Australia being one of the strongest teams at the tournament, many neutrals will be keen to watch their opening clash of the World Cup to see if they can continue their strong form that has seen them knock off Spain and England this calendar year.
The match will also be shown on free-to-air television in Australia, with millions expected to tune into one of the biggest matches in Australian football history.
| Country | Television | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Optus Sport, Channel 7 | Optus Sport website/app, 7Plus |
| New Zealand | Sky Sports 1, Prime TV | Sky Sport NOW, Stuff World Cup website |
| USA | Fox, Universo (Spanish) | Fubo, Fox Sports site/app, Peacock, Universo NOW, Telemundo Deportes site/app |
| Canada | TSN, RDS (French) | TSN+, TSN site/app, RDS site/app |
| UK | ITV | ITVX |
| Singapore | Singtel | Singtel TV GO, MeWatch |
| Hong Kong | NOW Sports Prime | NOW Sports Prime |
| Malaysia | — | FIFA Plus |
| India | — | — |
Australia vs. Republic of Ireland lineups
While some players in the Matildas camp are currently carrying small knocks, there don't appear to be huge injury concerns for any of coach Tony Gustavsson's main starting players.
Most importantly, superstar Sam Kerr is fit and raring to lead Australia's forward line, with her combination with Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord one of the most lethal attacking combinations at the World Cup.
Clare Polkinghorne and recent debutant Clare Hunt look set to anchor the backline, though Polkinghorne has carried a niggling injury that may need to be managed carefully, whilst Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley will provide width as attacking full backs.
- Australia projected starting lineup (4-4-1-1): Arnold (GK) — Carpenter, Polkinghorne, Hunt, Catley — Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Fowler — Kerr — Foord.
The Republic of Ireland were given a huge scare in their warm up match against France last week when star midfielder and captain Katie McCabe went off injured after 30 minutes, with the Irish wilting without their talisman, losing 3-0.
However, McCabe told media the outlook was 'looking positive' and she was confident she would be fit for the opening clash of their first ever World Cup; should their captain not be fit, the girls in green will look to Denise O'Sullivan to pick up the slack in the middle of the park.
Louise Quinn and Niamh Fahey have the unenviable task of keeping Sam Kerr quiet for 90 minutes at the back.
- Republic of Ireland projected starting lineup (4-4-2): Brosnan (GK) — O'Gorman, Fahey, Quinn, Scott — Littlejohn, McCabe, O'Sullivan, Farrelly— Sheva, Carusa.
Australia vs. Republic of Ireland betting odds
Australia are considerable favourites heading into their opening match of the tournament, with their form and home ground advantage seen as too much of a mountain to conquer for the Republic of Ireland.
And while the Irish did defeat Australia in their meeting back in 2021, that was a very different Matildas' side to the one set to take the field in front of 80,000 fans at Stadium Australia.
| Australia win | Draw | Republic of Ireland win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 2.5 goals | AUS -1.5 | ROI +1.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | 32/100 | 17/4 | 15/2 | 21/20 / 4/6 | 4/6 / 11/10 | 88/100 | 4/5 |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) | -333 | +360 | +640 | -103 / -152 | -49 / +108 | -104 | -127 |
| SkyBet (UK) | 2/7 | 19/5 | 8/1 | 11/10 / 4/6 | 8/11 / 1/1 | — | — |
| Dafabet (India) | 2/7 | 7/2 | 7/1 | 11/10 / 13/20 | 7/10 / 1/1 | 10/11 | 3/4 |
| Unibet (Australia) | 1.38 | 4.90 | 7.50 | 1.99 / 1.75 | 1.71 / 2.08 | 2.12 | 1.70 |
Odds correct as of July 13
