{"id":371939,"date":"2026-03-29T21:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/371939\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T21:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:02:10","slug":"denise-osullivan-boost-as-ward-due-to-name-ireland-squad-for-decisive-double-header","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/371939\/","title":{"rendered":"Denise O’Sullivan boost as Ward due to name Ireland squad for decisive double-header"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Emma Duffy<\/p>\n

WITH ONE IRISH World Cup dream dead in the water, another is about to ramp up.<\/p>\n

Just 24 days after their most recent game, Carla Ward is due to name her squad on Monday ahead of a decisive double-header against Poland.<\/p>\n

After opening with a pair of 2-1 defeats to heavyweights France and Netherlands, the next stop on Ireland\u2019s 2027 World Cup qualifying bid is Gda\u0144sk on Tuesday 14 April, before the return tie at Aviva Stadium the following Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s ultimate path through the play-offs looks likely to hinge on these results: finishing third in this group would secure a play-off semi-final against League C opposition, whereas finishing fourth would bring higher-ranked League B teams into play. Poland are eyeing up the exact same scenario, though they hold the upper hand after their Dutch draw, meaning Ireland likely need points in both of these games.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Boost \u2013<\/p>\n

Ward is due to show her hand at 1pm on Monday, and a similar panel to the familiar, experienced one which faced France and Netherlands<\/a> is expected, with Denise O\u2019Sullivan likely the headline returnee.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s midfield maestro aggravated an ongoing MCL knee issue in the Tallaght Stadium opener against Les Bleues, and was ruled out for the trip to Utrecht.<\/p>\n

Routinely labelled \u201cworld-class\u201d by Ward, O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s absence was keenly felt, but she made a quick return to fitness and has since featured twice for Liverpool: a full game against Brighton last week, and the last 19 minutes off the bench in Saturday\u2019s WSL Merseyside Derby win. Precautionary strapping has continued to be a feature, but the 32-year-old Corkonian should be in line for her 130th international cap in a major boost.<\/p>\n

Katie McCabe will spearhead the squad alongside O\u2019Sullivan, having enjoyed a rich vein of recent club form despite her uncertain future. The Irish captain is expected to leave Arsenal after 11 years this summer, but their Champions League title defence remains her focus before international duty.<\/p>\n

McCabe played a starring role as the Gunners seized a 3-1 quarter-final first-leg lead against Chelsea last week, contributing an assist and shifting to centre-back from her usual left-sided station for the second half. She warmed up for Wednesday\u2019s return tie with another assist in a North London Derby success on Saturday.<\/p>\n

With McCabe the only Irish player on target in this campaign thus far,\u00a0Amber Barrett and Abbie Larkin are among those looking to bring their club form to the international stage, having both scored at the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Injury concerns \u2013<\/p>\n

Midfielder Lily Agg looked set to return to the squad for the first time since late 2024, having recovered from an ACL injury and subsequent cancer diagnosis, but limped off after bagging her first goal for loan club Durham on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old fell just short of selection last time out, but has since further built up her minutes in the Championship, and looks set for a recall if fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been onto\u00a0Lily\u00a0and the club for weeks,\u201d\u00a0Ward said at her last squad announcement. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018When\u2019s she back?\u2019 I think she\u2019s going to be really important for us this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s only been back in full team training literally a couple of weeks, not even that. If she had been a couple more weeks, then there would be no question whatsoever. The sooner we can get\u00a0Lily\u00a0back and fit the better, I think she\u2019s a really important player for what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another injury concern from the same game, Jessie Stapleton also went off in the first half with a calf niggle as her Nottingham Forest side won 2-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heather Payne, Jess Ziu and Izzy Atkinson were others ruled out through injury for France and Netherlands, while Hayley Nolan was forced to withdraw mid-camp due to an ankle\/calf setback. None of that quartet have played since, so are unlikely to be involved. Tara O\u2019Hanlon was among those to miss out on initial selection, but the Manchester City youngster \u2013 on loan at Celtic \u2013 replaced Nolan and went unused.<\/p>\n

Another who suffered the same fate, Ruesha Littlejohn, will typically be in the spotlight. Her inclusion was questioned last time out, as the Crystal Palace 35-year-old was returning from an extended, five-game ban. Ward always comes back to her experience and importance to the environment, but Littlejohn hasn\u2019t played since.<\/p>\n

\"the-ireland-team\"
\n The Ireland XI that started against Netherlands. Ryan Byrne \/ INPHO<\/p>\n

Ryan Byrne \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n

\u2013 Depth \u2013<\/p>\n

Squad depth \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 and age profile have been concerns for some time, and\u00a0as detailed by The 42<\/a>, both were laid bare in the opening window.<\/p>\n

Ward used 15 of the 23 players available to her, making one change to the starting team, enforced by O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n

Of both Irish XIs, seven players are aged 30 or over. All but one\u00a0\u2013 back to back Player of the Match Emily Murphy\u00a0\u2013 are over 25. The average age is 29, and just five players have made debuts since the 2023 World Cup (none came through the fractured Irish system).<\/p>\n

This is not lost on Ward, but the reality is she is in win-now territory with World Cup qualification her remit.<\/p>\n

Calls to include underage internationals and League of Ireland Women\u2019s Premier Division talent are constant, but the English coach continually highlights the \u201cmassive jump\u201d \u2013 not helped by a lack of U21 or U23 national team.<\/p>\n

Teenage midfielders Madison McGuane (Treaty United) and Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians) have been name-checked, but both are with the U19s for their games against Germany, France and Slovakia.<\/p>\n

Ward recently watched Peamount United stun Shamrock Rovers, and Bohemians beat Cork City; one wonders if anyone caught her eye that day. Ellen Molloy \u2013 now of Rovers \u2013 has recently been on the fringes, with seven caps to her credit, while other Irish players have been doing their utmost across various leagues.<\/p>\n

Surprises are always possible, but the wise bet for this squad announcement is to expect more of the same.<\/p>\n

As Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson tries to pick his side up for a grim international friendly against North Macedonia, the World Cup dream burns bright for Ward and co., who move into the business end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma Duffy WITH ONE IRISH World Cup dream dead in the water, another is about to ramp up.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1128,61,60,51830,43,142549,3405],"class_list":["post-371939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-football","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ireland-wnt","tag-news","tag-selection-box","tag-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}