IN ALL, THERE were no major surprises as Vera Pauw named her World Cup training squad this afternoon.
The Republic of Ireland manager has selected 31 players ahead of a lengthy training camp in Dublin, which begins on Monday.
Aoife Mannion was the headline omission, the Manchester United defender “being monitored” as she recovers from a knee setback. But Pauw is giving her every chance of making the plane to Australia next month.
The Dutch coach must whittle the numbers down to 23 players and three travelling training members before she announces her final World Cup squad on 29 June.
Not all 31 named in the extended group will report to camp next week. US-based trio Denise O’Sullivan, Sinead Farrelly and Marissa Sheva will miss the warm-up friendly against Zambia on 22 June as the NWSL season continues, while captain and Arsenal star Katie McCabe will arrive on the 19th or 23rd depending on the outcome of an ongoing club v country wrangle. Thankfully, it hasn’t been overly problematic for Ireland.
Peamount United midfielder Erin McLaughlin — one of four home-based Women’s Premier Division players — is the only outfield uncapped member of the training squad, while Leanne Kiernan, Niamh Fahey, Lily Agg, Chloe Mustaki, Megan Campbell and Saoirse Noonan all return to the fold.
The majority of their respective absences were owing to injury, and they’ll all be hoping to take their opportunities to stake a claim.
So too will new recruits Mannion, Sheva, Farrelly and goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse.
Others can count themselves unlucky: Jessie Stapleton, Izzy Atkinson, Niamh Farrelly, Roma McLaughlin, Claire Walsh, Naoisha McAloon and Alannah McEvoy have all been involved in recent months, with Shamrock Rovers returnee Savannah McCarthy a regular starter before her ACL injury.
Jess Ziu and Ellen Molloy also featured heavily before suffering the same cruel fate, while the likes of Stephanie Roche and Rianna Jarrett have faded out of the picture.
Pauw has often referenced a pool of 50 players, and had to make more than 75 phonecalls to those in the mix as she settled on this current crop.
“Halfway I had to stop for a moment, to be honest,” she told a press conference this afternoon. “The players I called were disappointed of course, most of them had expected the call.
“It’s devastating. I’m very much aware I have broken dreams and it will have an impact on careers also. We’ve not been taking this lightly as I say all the time. Every single player was on the table every single day. It’s elite sport. You have to make choices.
“I wish I could bring them all. We can’t. So believe it or not, with all the clubs and everybody on Monday, I had to make more than 75 phone calls. But the shift was done and I’ve called every single player again this week to see how they are doing. And we have offered them support because it can have an impact going forward.”
While she wouldn’t delve into any specifics on difficult conclusions, Pauw explained:
“The tightest decisions will come still. Every player that comes into camp has the same chances. We have to make our final decisions on the basis of what they show. Of course we all know there’s a few that are pretty sure about their place, but for [Erin McLaughlin] or any other player that’s on the fringe of the squad, it’s completely open until the last second.”
Lucy Quinn was referenced as “proof” of that policy. The Birmingham City attacker was a late call-up for April’s friendlies against the USA, where she went from the standby list to Player of the Match, with her club form drastically improving thereafter.
To use a phrase well-worn by the Ireland manager, now it’s time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
A lot of that will be done in UCD over the coming weeks. The Irish squad will mostly base themselves at the south Dublin university campus, training between there and FAI HQ, Abbotstown, ahead of sold-out Tallaght Stadium friendlies against Zambia and France (6 July).
Players will stay in the student apartments, allowing them to “live more or less a normal life” while training will be like club sessions. They will be released on weekends to see family and friends, and given Wednesdays off to follow their own recovery programmes.
“That’s extremely important,” Pauw noted, “because if you miss your home for six weeks and then into a World Cup for what will hopefully be a long time, you cannot cope with that and they are not used to that.
“We didn’t want to set up training camps for the entire six weeks because you get tired of each other so this will keep them fresh, sharp, happy and hungry.”
The preparations in place seem pretty solid, with “periodisation” the plan from here.
Players finished their club seasons at different stages so their respective loads, recovery requirements and routines will be considered and managed — using technology, and by the staff — so they can move through the gears and peak together.
While everyone else is fully-fit, Megan Campbell will be another latecomer to the set-up as she works through return-to-play protocols.
A slow, thorough, build-up is key as Ireland prepare to face Australia, Canada and Nigeria at their first-ever major tournament in just under six weeks.
The countdown continues.
More dreams to make and, unfortunately, break.
