The Republic of Ireland recorded a routine 4-0 victory in the second leg of their 2027 Women's World Cup play-off semi-final against Kazakhstan at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as they rubber-stamped their place in the play-off final against Poland.

Already leading 8-0 from the first leg in Astana, Jessie Stapleton made the breakthrough five minutes before the break in Cork.

Three more goals followed in the second half, with captain Katie McCabe and Lucy Quinn firing home fine strikes and Cork's own Denise O'Sullivan scoring a fourth.

They will now face Poland, who they beat twice in their qualifying group, in the final over two legs after they saw off Belgium on penalties.

Republic of Ireland will have home advantage for the second leg, which will be played at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 5 December, as they look to book their place in back-to-back World Cups.

The Irish went close to opening the scoring on the night on seven minutes when Abbie Larkin's deft effort from a tight angle was hooked off the line by Bibigul Nurusheva.

McCabe and Stapleton then blasted over before Larkin had a low shot saved by Angelina Portnova, who also thwarted Emily Murphy.

The deadlock was eventually broken on 40 minutes as Stapleton drifted into the box to head home from Anna Patten's inviting cross.

Shanade Hopcroft then hit the base of the post with a header before McCabe drilled home a second just three minutes into the second half.

Substitute Marissa Sheva rattled the woodwork before Quinn curled home a third into the far corner on 70 minutes and O'Sullivan rounded off the scoring with the fourth from close-range.

Republic of Ireland have quickly made Pairc Ui Chaoimh a fortress, with Tuesday's win their fourth from four games at the Cork venue.

Ward said pre-match that, despite her team having a healthy advantage in the tie, their foot needed to be "firmly on the gas" given the play-off final which they had all but assured their place in before the second leg is just around the corner.

Despite the restoration of McCabe and O'Sullivan to the starting side, the Irish, while dominating possession, struggled to get through a more compact Kazakhstan, with clear-cut chances at a premium in the first half, until Patten found Stapleton with a precise cross.

McCabe then scored a fine second as the floodgates, as they did on Friday, opened for Republic of Ireland with Quinn firing in an equally as impressive goal and O'Sullivan getting another goal at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

While the first hurdle on their journey to Brazil and back-to-back World Cup appearances has been cleared with ease as predicted, the second is set to be a much sterner assignment against Poland.

The Irish will take confidence from the fact they have beaten the Poles twice - led by Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor - already this year and that they will have home advantage for the second leg, but they will need to step it up again from their showing on Tuesday.

Ward, who said she is "obsessed" with leading Republic of Ireland to another World Cup, will no doubt ensure she prepares her side to produce two more big performances given the prize on offer.