The Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team are ready for their biggest test yet when they face Germany, who are ranked No.2 in the world Rankings, in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Ireland will take on European champions Germany at their home ground, Tallaght Stadium, this weekend in the first of three consecutive home games. (Ronan’s team will be taking on Russia on May 7th before welcoming Croatia on June 14th. They will then travel to Russia on June 19th.)
Ireland are currently sitting in second position in their group having taken seven points in their three opening games but Germany are top having bagged full points from their five opening games.
Speaking about the fixture, Manager Sue Ronan said: “Being realistic, the game against Russia is even more important for us than the Germany game. Germany are second in the world ranking and have just won the Algarve Cup.
“They are European champions and have made an awesome start to the group with five wins, five clean sheets and 40 goals. Anything we get from this game will be a bonus but we have to get something from the games against Russia, home and away, if we want to get a play-off spot.”
She added: “We’ve made a good start to the campaign and I was delighted with our response to the poor performance in Croatia in October. We are making strides and the recent results in Cyprus showed we are on the right track.”
The full squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Emma Byrne (Arsenal), Niamh Reid-Burke (Raheny United).
Defenders: Sophie Perry (Millwall), Meabh de Burca (Galway WFC), Louise Quinn (Eskilstuna United), Diane Caldwell (Avaldsnes), Megan Campbell (Florida State University), Karen Duggan (Peamount United).
Midfielders: Julie Ann Russell (Peamount United), Ciara Grant (Raheny United), Siobhan Killeen (Raheny United), Dora Gorman (Peamount United), Shannon Smyth (Amazon Grimstad).
Forwards: Fiona O’Sullivan (SC Frieburg), Denise O’Sullivan (Glasgow City), Stephanie Roche (Peamount United), Ruesha Littlejohn (Sandviken), Áine O’Gorman (Peamount United).
Admission for the game, which kicks off at 3.00pm on Saturday, is €5 for adults and €2 for U16s and students.
