The Republic of Ireland women’s football squad has flown out to Australia for their first ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup.
Vera Pauw’s 23-player squad and backroom staff departed from Dublin Airport yesterday. They left just hours after Ireland’s loss to France in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium. The squad received a sensational send-off and the entire nation is backing the Girls in Green.
Captain Katie McCabe suffered an ankle injury just 14 minutes into Thursday night’s match, but was in high spirits yesterday.
Speaking just before jetting off Down Under, the 27-year-old said: “I’m feeling good. I basically was running through and I kind of rolled my ankle, but I’ve been for scans and stuff this morning and everything is looking really positive.
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"I’m in a good place and hopefully will be back on the pitch early next week.”
The team will be based in Brisbane until their opener against hosts Australia at Sydney Football Stadium on July 20. The Republic of Ireland also face Canada in Perth on July 26, and Nigeria in Brisbane on July 31.
We have not been at a World Cup since the men’s team was in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
A song cheering on the squad has been released ahead of the tournament. Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream) celebrates Irish sportswomen.
The song is written by Maria Walsh and recorded by Zrazy, made up of Maria and Carole Nelson. The music duo previously went to Number One in Ireland with the hugely successful 1990 World Cup song Watch Your House (Ooh Ah, Paul McGrath).
The track contains an excerpt from the speech made by President Michael D Higgins on St Patrick’s Day this year. Higgins says in his stirring contribution: “We are all part of a rich and vibrant global community that is bound together by a shared love of life.”
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