Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team manager Sue Ronan has named a squad of 20 players for next week’s FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Slovenia. The game takes place at Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday, August 20, at 7.30pm.

The match will be Ireland’s last home game in the qualifying campaign with two away games against Slovakia and Germany to come in September.

Defender Seana Cooke returns to the squad after an 11 month absence through injury while a third goalkeeper, Reading’s Grace Moloney, has also been added. They replace Raheny United’s Rachel Graham and the American-based defender Mary Therese McDonnell. Millwall’s Sophie Perry, who was forced to withdraw from the games in June against Croatia and Russia after suffering concussion in a club game, is also included.



Having seen her side pick up four points in June with a win at home to Croatia and a draw away to Russia, Ronan is keen to see her side bring that form into next week’s game.

“We deserved to win against Croatia even though it was a tough game and our draw away to Russia could easily have been a win so we want to build on those results next week against Slovenia. We played them away last October and I still believe that was our best overall attacking display and we comfortably won 3-0. However, this is a new game and I expect it to be another tough one for us,” said Ronan.

Ronan also intends to bring in some members of the U19 squad, who reached last month’s UEFA European Championship semi-finals, to train with the senior squad next week.

“I was in Norway and there are a few of them on my radar. Some of the U19 squad, like Clare Shine, were with us in La Manga in January while five more were part of the squad I took to Spain to play the Basque Country in May. Unfortunately, there is no U21 grade in women’s football so it is a big jump from U19 to senior international football but we have managed to bring through a lot of the U17 squad from 2010 over the last few years and we will be hoping to do the same with the U19s. What they achieved was tremendous and it is exciting to think that 12 of the squad are underage next year. ”

The FIFA World Cup qualifier against Croatia will take place at Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday, August 20, with 7.30pm kick-off. Admission is €5 for adults and €2 for students/U16s.

Republic of Ireland squad to play Slovenia

Goalkeepers:

Emma Byrne (Arsenal),

Niamh Reid-Burke (Raheny United),

Grace Moloney (Reading)

Defenders:

Sophie Perry (Millwall),

Meabh de Burca (Galway WFC),

Louise Quinn (Eskilstuna United),

Niamh Fahey (Arsenal),

Karen Duggan (UCD Waves),

Seana Cooke (UCD Waves).

Midfielders:

Julie Ann Russell (UCD Waves),

Ciara Grant (UCD Waves),

Siobhan Killeen (Raheny United),

Dora Gorman (UCD Waves),

Diane Caldwell (Avaldsnes),

Shannon Smyth (Amazon Grimstad).

Forwards:

Fiona O’Sullivan (Notts County),

Denise O’Sullivan (Glasgow City),

Stephanie Roche (ASPTT Albi),

Ruesha Littlejohn (Sandviken),

Áine O’Gorman (UCD Waves).

Results & Fixtures

Recent Results

March 6, 2013 – Cyprus Cup: Republic of Ireland 5 Northern Ireland 1

March 8, 2013 – Cyprus Cup: Republic of Ireland 1 South Africa 0

March 11, 2013 – Cyprus Cup: Republic of Ireland 0 South Korea 0

March 13, 2013 – Cyprus Cup: Republic of Ireland 0 Finland 1

June 18, 2013 – Friendly: Republic of Ireland 2 Austria 2

September 22, 2013 – FIFA World Cup: Republic of Ireland 2 Slovakia 0

September 26, 2013 – FIFA World Cup: Croatia 1 Republic of Ireland 1

October 30, 2013 – FIFA World Cup: Slovenia 0 Republic of Ireland 3

March 5, 2014 – Cyprus Cup: New Zealand 1 Republic of Ireland 1

March 7, 2014 – Cyprus Cup: Republic of Ireland 1 South Korea 1

March 10, 2014 – Cyprus Cup: Switzerland 1 Republic of Ireland 2

March 12, 2014 – Cyprus Cup: Canada 2 Republic of Ireland 1

April 5 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Republic of Ireland 2 Germany 3

May 7 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Republic of Ireland 1 Russia 3

June 14 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Republic of Ireland 1 Croatia 0

June 19 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Russia 0 Republic of Ireland 0

Forthcoming Fixtures

August 20 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Republic of Ireland v Slovenia

September 13 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Slovakia v Republic of Ireland

September 17 2014 – FIFA World Cup: Germany v Republic of Ireland

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Tournament

Group 1 Table

Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts Germany 8 8 0 0 56 3 53 24 Russia 7 5 1 1 12 12 0 16 Republic of Ireland 7 3 2 2 10 7 3 11 Croatia 8 1 2 5 5 17 -12 5 Slovakia 7 1 1 5 4 23 -19 4 Slovenia 7 1 0 6 5 30 -25 3