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Women's European World Cup Qualifiers
Republic of Ireland 1 - 2 France FT
Substitute Melvine Malard scored twice as France came from behind to defeat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in their opening Women's World Cup qualifier in Dublin.
McCabe netted in the 12th minute to give Carla Ward's side the perfect start as France struggled to contain the hosts.
Captain McCabe, who is expected to leave Arsenal at the end of the season, raced on to Emily Murphy's pass to fire into the bottom corner.
The organised Irish defence frustrated France, but the introduction of Malard sparked a comeback at Tallaght Stadium.
The Manchester United forward netted two minutes after coming on to bring France level, and she struck the winner with 11 minutes left after the Republic of Ireland failed to deal with a corner.
Denise O'Sullivan thought she had struck an injury-time equaliser but Marie-Antoinette Katoto's superb header off the line sealed the win for France.
It was a disappointing result for Ward's side in League A2 despite a strong performance, and they will now look to bounce back in the Netherlands on Saturday in their bid to repeat their historic qualification for the 2023 finals.
The Dutch were held to a surprise 2-2 draw in Poland in their opener, and both sides will be under pressure to kick-start their respective campaigns.
Republic of Ireland fade after McCabe opener
It was a superb first-half performance from the Republic of Ireland, who put France under pressure from the early stages.
Megan Connolly's free-kick forced Constance Picaud into a strong save, and Anna Patten should have opened the scoring when she headed straight at the French goalkeeper from the resulting corner.
Murphy also had a great opportunity for an early opener when she brought down Aoife Mannion's long ball with a superb touch but her finish lacked power and Picaud easily saved.
McCabe's opener was well deserved as she won possession in her own half and found Murphy, who raced forwards with the ball.
The Irish captain continued her run into the area and Murphy found her with a neat reverse pass, and McCabe fired low into the net to spark wild celebrations.
At the other end, France were limited going forward as Clara Meto and Sakina Karchaoui fired well wide in the visitor's best chances.
The pattern continued after the restart as the Irish defence stifled France, who were limited to half opportunities, including an effort from Sandy Baltimore that flew way over the bar.
Patten's header from a McCabe free-kick was clawed away by Picaud, and O'Sullivan nearly scored a superb goal as her flicked effort fell just short of beating the French goalkeeper.
But France equalised when Malard danced inside McCabe and slotted into the bottom corner past Courtney Brosnan.
The Republic responded well and Murphy almost got on the end of McCabe's ball into the area and, at the other end, Chloe Mustaki had to be alert to cut out a dangerous cross.
However, Malard struck the decisive goal after a scramble when the Republic failed to deal with a corner.
O'Sullivan almost grabbed a dramatic equaliser when she fired towards goal after a goalmouth scramble, but substitute Katoto headed off the line, before she was mobbed by her team-mates for the intervention.
Analysis - Irish show they belong in top tier
When the Republic of Ireland were last in League A for Euro 2025 qualifying, the highlight was their 3-1 victory over France in Cork - the only win of that campaign.
For large parts of their World Cup qualifying opener, it looked like they would repeat that historic win as they frustrated and, at times, dominated France.
There may be doubts over her club future, but McCabe's important for the Irish cannot be understated and her opener set the tone in a blistering start.
However, Ward's side tired in the closing stages and the ultimate lack of strength in depth compared to France proved costly, as Malard showed.
There were concerns over knocks to O'Sullivan and McCabe, who also picked up her first yellow card of the campaign, but both players played the full 90 minutes.
But the Republic are on the right track and, after becoming the first League B side to win promotion with a play-off victory over a top tier side in Belgium last year, there are plenty of positives to take from their opener.
They were left without anything to show for their efforts, but Ward's side have shown they belong in the top tier and will look to back that performance up in the Netherlands on Saturday.