50 DAYS To go. Seven weeks tomorrow, the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team will line out at their first-ever major tournament in the 2023 World Cup.
Vera Pauw’s side face co-hosts Australia in their historic opener at Sydney’s 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia.
A training squad is set to be named on Friday 9 June, ahead of a lengthy camp in Dublin.
Tallaght Stadium will host send-off friendlies against Zambia and France on 22 June and 6 July respectively, with the final World Cup squad due to be announced on 29 June.
Pauw has referenced a pool of 40 to 50 players in recent months, but she must whittle that down to 23 — plus three travelling training members – in the coming weeks for the flight Down Under.
Certain selections will have been clear in the manager’s mind for some time now, and as always, we can expect to see a sizeable Women’s Super League [WSL] contingent included.
The English top-flight finished up last weekend, with the 13 Irish internationals who featured through the 2022/23 season permanent fixtures in Pauw’s plans when available.
With a firm focus on the WSL, here’s a look at how the club season has gone for Ireland’s World Cup hopefuls:
Katie McCabe
Versatile Arsenal star McCabe is captain and one of the most recognisable faces on the Ireland team. She enjoyed another impressive individual season with the Gunners, though it was far from straightforward. The Dubliner found herself out of the XI after Christmas and was the subject of a big-money transfer rumour, but finished the season as skipper after injury ravaged the North London outfit.
McCabe was threatened with one herself, forced into a boot and crutches after the Champions League quarter-final, but she returned four days later to score a stunning winner against Manchester City in the league. That went a long way towards securing European football for Arsenal again next season with a third-place finish, while they were cruelly denied a spot in this year’s final by a 120th-minute Wolfsburg winner at a sold-out Emirates.
Courtney Brosnan
Ireland’s number one made 14 WSL appearances for Everton as she shared the goalkeeping duties with England U23 star Emily Ramsey. Brosnan kept four clean sheets as the Toffees finished sixth, and had a couple more in cup competition.
The US-born shot-stopper has enjoyed a remarkable rise for the Girls In Green and will hope to continue her upward trajectory on the world stage this summer. She’s nailed on first-choice goalkeeper with fellow WSL pair Megan Walsh and Grace Moloney most likely to travel too.
Ruesha Littlejohn
It was a frustrating, injury-hit season for Littlejohn, clocking up just 190 WSL minutes for Aston Villa. Her departure was confirmed last week. The Glasgow-born midfielder broke her foot in Ireland’s qualifier win over Finland last September and another setback on her return in December extended her absence.
Just when she was back clocking up substitute appearances, a freak mid-match accident and deep laceration to her knee stopped her in her tracks. While Littlejohn did look lively in Ireland’s April friendlies against the USA, an Achilles flare-up restricted her club involvement through the run-in and she opted to manage her load with the World Cup in mind.
Niamh Fahey
Similarly, Fahey was sidelined for much of the second half of the season. The Liverpool captain played 12 matches, with an average of 83 minutes in each, though a calf injury ruled her out for a chunk of 2023.
An Irish centurion, Fahey started the Reds’ final two games as they finished seventh in their first season back in the top-flight — and she looks primed to challenge for a centre-half berth for Ireland.
Leanne Kiernan
Kiernan was effectively out for the entire season, playing just the first and penultimate games for Liverpool. A serious ankle injury sustained on the opening day against Chelsea saw her facing a long road back and a string of setbacks delayed her return.
She featured as a second-half substitute against Aston Villa two weeks ago and looked sharp. The Cavan star is fit and available for selection in a boost to Pauw’s strike force.
Megan Campbell
Campbell played 1,091 minutes across 16 WSL appearances for Liverpool, in a huge increase on her recent records amidst desperate injury luck. Her long throw-in is a huge weapon, while her defensive efforts have been solid.
The Drogheda native is leaving the Reds after two seasons, and didn’t play through the run-in. That unavailability will be of concern, though she appears to still be firmly in the Ireland mix.
Aoife Mannion
Mannion’s season ended on a sour note as she sustained a knee setback in training. A two-time cruciate ligament injury victim, huge precaution will be taken with this “small tweak” to her MCL [Medial Collateral Ligament] but Manchester United manager Mark Skinner is hopeful she will be available for World Cup selection.
Returning from injury after Christmas, the English-born defender struggled to break into the United team with Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier cementing the centre-half spots, but she took her chances she was given. Mannion made nine appearances in all competitions and has impressed on her two Irish caps thus far. She’s out of contract this summer so it will be interesting to see what happens next.
Megan Walsh
Walsh is on the hunt for a new club after her Brighton & Hove Albion exit, having recently juggled the goalkeeping duties with Australia’s Lydia Williams. She was the strugglers’ first-choice number one through a difficult period, before mid-season signing Williams displaced her.
In 15 WSL games, Walsh conceded 42 goals — though that’s more of a reflection on the Seagulls’ shambolic defence before they finished the season strong to avoid relegation.
Megan Connolly
Connolly is also departing Brighton, having featured 15 times for the club this season and captained the team on several occasions. She popped up with one assist and on average, played 85 minutes a game.
The Cork ace is a mainstay in Vera Pauw’s squad, versatile in midfield and defence and often getting her name on the scoresheet. She should play a big role this summer.
Grace Moloney
Moloney’s Reading were relegated to the Championship after finishing five points adrift of Brighton and Leicester City. It was a challenging season for Moloney, dropped from the XI amidst a difficult personal period before re-establishing herself as the Royals’ number one through the second half of the season.
She made 13 appearances and conceded a disappointing 38 goals, but had the highest save rate of the WSL’s Irish shot-stoppers (64.6%). Moloney also enjoyed some memorable FA Cup penalty shootout heroics.
Diane Caldwell
Caldwell played 11 times for Reading, clocking up 759 minutes. Nine of those appearances were starts, while she was an unused substitute on 10 occasions.
Club minutes have decreased for Caldwell in recent seasons, but she’s a regular starter for Ireland. Pauw looked elsewhere for a period, but the experienced Balbriggan defender has played in every international game in 2023 thus far. The defence is changeable but Caldwell will be targeting inclusion.
Jess Ziu
Just four games into Ziu’s professional career at West Ham United, she suffered the dreaded cruciate injury. The former Shelbourne star had made a bright start, playing all three of the Hammers’ WSL fixtures to that point but she’s been out of action since October’s Conti Cup meeting with London City Lionesses.
Pauw previously said it would be “virtually impossible” for Ziu and Ellen Molloy to make it back for the World Cup, as the rising duo remain on the comeback trail.
Izzy Atkinson
Atkinson featured 16 times for West Ham, restricted mainly to a substitute role but making her impact felt where possible. She contributed one goal and one assist, as the Hammers finished eighth under now-former manager Paul Konchesky.
A more fringe player under Pauw of late, Atkinson will be well aware of the challenge she faces to stake a World Cup claim but will hope she has done enough to make it to the training camp.
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Championship Matters
11 players who have been involved through Pauw’s tenure operate in England’s second-tier. Chloe Mustaki helped Bristol City to glory and promotion upon her injury return; while players like Hayley Nolan, Louise Quinn and Jamie Finn showed remarkable consistency. London City Lionesses star Nolan, alongside recent goalkeeping addition Sophie Whitehouse, played every single minute of the season, while Quinn and Finn started every game for Birmingham City.
They were joined by Harriet Scott and Lucy Quinn at the Blues, the latter finishing the campaign strongly, while Kyra Carusa and Lily Agg called London City home alongside Nolan. Agg scored four goals in 13 appearances, but has been absent with an ankle injury of late. Goalkeeper Naoisha McAloon (6 clean sheets in 18) and striker Saoirse Noonan (5 goals in 21) helped Durham to a seventh-placed finish.
Scottish Sound
Claire Walsh and Emily Whelan both played pivotal roles as Glasgow City won the Scottish Women’s Premier League. Walsh — rewarded with a new contract yesterday — was a mainstay in defence and chipped in with five goals, while attacker Whelan notched 13 goals in 30 outings. Aoife Colvill made it back from a cruciate injury for the very end of the season.
Claire O’Riordan excelled for challengers Celtic, the defender on target in the Hoops’ cup final success last weekend; while Ciara Grant was a key player for Hearts.
Further Afield
Niamh Farrelly, Amber Barrett and Roma McLaughlin are playing on the continent in Italy, Germany and Denmark respectively, while there’s others — not all in Pauw’s plans — dotted around.
It’s early days in the NWSL in America, where Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Sinead Farrelly (Gotham FC) and Marissa Sheva (Washington Spirit) are plying their trade, with Heather Payne among those in the college system. Pauw is likely to be without these players for the Zambia training camp.
Elsewhere, one-cap Deborah Anne De La Harpe recently helped Sydney FC to the A-League title.
Home Made
The Women’s Premier Division remains in full flow, with an All-Island Cup competition taking place in the build-up to the World Cup. Shamrock Rovers pair Abbie Larkin and Áine O’Gorman have been Pauw’s regular domestic call-ups and The 42 understands that Peamount midfielder Erin McLaughlin will join them in the upcoming camp.
The Irish Examiner, meanwhile, is reporting that McLaughlin’s team-mate Tara O’Hanlon will feature, with Shelbourne star Jessie Stapleton among those set to miss out.
