In the latest of our Legendary Moments series, we revisit the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup 2018, where London’s Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre provided the stage for a genuinely remarkable sporting underdog story that made headlines around the globe.
Ireland’s women arrived in London as not only the lowest ranked team in their pool, but also the second lowest of the 16 nations present in the English capital city. Defying all odds and expectations, the Green Army created sporting history by becoming the first Irish national team across any sport to reach the final of World Cup.
Despite defeat in the competition final against the dazzling Dutch, their exploits not only put hockey firmly on the map in Ireland but also resulted in an extraordinary homecoming celebration that saw tens of thousands of people, that vast majority of whom had never followed the sport before, fill Dublin’s famous Dame Street in recognition a monumental achievement.
With a full match replay of Ireland’s dramatic World Cup semi-final clash against Spain being made available for all fans on the Watch.Hockey app later this week, we spoke to striker Anna O’Flanagan about her team’s astonishing performances in London.
In Part 1, Anna discusses how the team negotiated the pool phase and the shoot-out victory over India in the quarter-finals, as well as how the team simply had no idea how big a story that their wonderful World Cup run was becoming back home.
To watch Part 1 of the interview, click here.
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