Niamh Fahey has backed Ireland’s underdogs to show some bite at next month’s World Cup.
The Girls in Green have landed a group of death alongside Australia and Olympic champions Canada, as well as Nigeria.
And they open their campaign at a sold out 82,500-seater Stadium Australia against the tournament co-hosts.
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Fahey insists that Vera Pauw’s side won’t be overawed by the occasion - and she reckons their past big-match performances are proof that they can thrive against bigger nations.
They overcame the odds on a number of occasions during the qualifiers to draw away to Sweden, win home and away against Finland, and see off Scotland in the play-offs.
“For sure, we are backing ourselves,” said Fahey, after the 23 players selected for the tournament received their jerseys from manager Pauw yesterday.
“We have got a really talented squad. We are going to be the underdogs, there is nothing expected of us, but we perform well when we are the underdogs.
“We like proving people wrong. We know the talents we possess in the squad, so there is no reason why we can’t go there and be successful.”
Fahey added: “All those games on our way to the World Cup, nothing was expected of us and we got over the line in every single one of them.
“We have to take confidence and be ready to go there and show what we’re about.”
The Liverpool captain’s place in Pauw’s squad was never in doubt, once she recovered from an injury that sidelined her for much of the second-half of the season.
But by yesterday afternoon she still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that she was on her way to the World Cup.
“To be honest I probably haven’t reflected on it fully,” she said.
“I’ve had a couple of minutes, we had a break yesterday, to just do a quick recap and to think about the journey I’ve been on.
“I’m just trying to take it all in. It’s going to be hard. It’s probably not something we can do until afterwards.”
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