Heather Payne set to start for Ireland against Slovakia

The Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team will look to collect their first home win of their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying campaign against Slovakia tonight.

This will be Ireland’s third game in Group A following a narrow loss to Sweden and a win away to Finland.

“We are currently preparing for our next two challenges, against Slovakia and Georgia, and we cannot underestimate them” said Ireland manager Vera Pauw.

”We need to be sharp and on our toes, ready to attack, just like a tiger” added Pauw. “We have so much faith in what we are trying to achieve players and staff. We have to build on the win against Finland in October and find a way to take maximum points from these two games”.

“Thanks to the friendly games that we have played against higher-ranked opponents, we have learned how to raise our level of performance”. “The players learned what it means to take on any opponent without fear” added Pauw.

“If we manage to get into the game with the same will to sacrifice ourselves for the team, then we have a chance to make the next step in our qualification process. Only then will we have a chance to collect these points”.

“It is exciting to be back at Tallaght Stadium again and we are hoping to have another big crowd. There is no experience like it, playing in front of our passionate supporters.

Ireland are hoping to play in front of a large crowd with record ticket sales in advance of this fixture, which will go some way to determining whether either team can remain in the hunt for a place at the next World Cup.

Republic of Ireland Squad

Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Defenders: Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Diane Caldwell (North Carolina Courage), Jessie Stapleton (Shelbourne), Savannah McCarthy (Galway WFC), Éabha O'Mahony (Boston College), Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United), Isibeal Atkinson (Celtic)

Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Niamh Farrelly (Glasgow City), Ciara Grant (Shelbourne), Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford Youths), Roma McLaughlin (Central Connecticut State University), Jess Ziu (Shelbourne)

Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Kyra Carusa (HB Koge), Emily Whelan (Birmingham City), Saoirse Noonan (Shelbourne), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)