Donegal duo Amber Barrett and Ciara Grant have both been included in Veru Pauw’s 23-strong Republic of Ireland soccer squad for next month’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand.
There is no place for Erin McLaughlin, who made her senior debut in last week’s 3-2 win over Zambia in a World Cup warm-up at Tallaght Stadium.
Barrett, who recently signed for Belgian club Standard Liege, scored two goals in last week’s win over Zambia – and famously scored the matchwinner at Hampden Park last October against Scotland, which secured Ireland’s World Cup qualification.
Grant, a native of Letterkenny and a League of Ireland winner with Shelbourne in 2021, has been based in Scotland in recent seasons, and has just completed an impressive campaign with Hearts in the women’s Scottish Premier League.
She is also a qualified medical doctor and worked as a lecturer for the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.
Like Barrett, she previously played Gaelic football for the Donegal senior team.
Birmingham City’s Lucy Quinn, whose grandfather Edward was from Ballymote, also makes the squad.
The full squad announcement is here:
Here they are!
Your @FIFAWWC squad announcement is here ☘️ pic.twitter.com/RGjaLvQnDH
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 28, 2023
The squad will travel to Australia on Friday, July 7th – the day after their final preparation on home soil against France in Tallaght Stadium.The squad selection is subject to change should any injuries occur in advance of the FIFA deadline on July 10th.Three training players will also accompany the squad for the duration of the tournament but will not be eligible for selection after the FIFA deadline.Vera Pauw’s squad will be based in Brisbane for their time at the World Cup.
They are in a four-team group which includes co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada and Nigeria.
Ireland kick off their campaign against Australia in Sydney on July 20th.
