Republic of Ireland women’s Head Coach Carla Ward has named a squad of 25 players for the two-legged World Cup semifinal play-off against Kazakhstan. The first leg in on Friday next in Astana with the second leg in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork on Oct. 13. When the draw was made a few months back Kazakhstan were ranked 100th in the world, while the Girls in Green are ranked 21st in the world so we will be hot favorites to progress.
Ireland have played Kazakhstan twice previously at senior women’s level, winning both Women’s World Cup qualifiers in 2009 on a scoreline of 2-1.The winners of the semi-final will advance to a play-off final to take on either Belgium or Poland to try to secure a place at the World Cup finals in Brazil next year.
Captain Katie McCabe and midfielder Marissa Sheva are both suspended for the first leg, while Denise O’Sullivan will not travel with the squad to Astana. Tara O’Hanlon (hamstring) and Saoirse Noonan (ankle) are unavailable. Leicester City defender Heather Payne returns for the first time since the UEFA Nations League Promotion/Relegation play-off against Belgium in Oct. 2025. There is a first call-up for Crystal Palace midfielder Shanade Hopcroft, who qualifies through her Sligo-born grandmother.
The coach has decided that Cork’s Denise O’Sullivan will not travel with the squad to Astana, as she is recovering from injury. Ward said: ‘‘Denise wants to play every single possible minute going. I absolutely love that mindset. She just wants to wear the Ireland shirt at any possible point she can. But we also have to look after her. She has played an awful lot of minutes and she is recovering from an injury. I just think the travel, along with the artificial pitch and I took the decision purely on player welfare to try to have her ready for the game in Cork.’’
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Southampton), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic).Defenders: Aoife Mannion (Newcastle United), Heather Payne (Leicester City), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jessie Stapleton (Leicester City), Megan Connolly (Lazio), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Nottingham Forest), Katie McCabe (Chelsea) Midfielders: Denise O’Sullivan (Gotham FC), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Aoibheann Clancy (Watford), Jamie Finn (Burnley), Lucy Quinn (Sheffield United), Tyler Toland (Burnley), Jess Ziu (Leicester City), Shanade Hopcroft (Crystal Palace). Forwards: Kyra Carusa (HB Køge), Amber Barrett (Strasbourg), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Emily Murphy (Brighton & Hove Albion), Leanne Kiernan (Newcastle United)
