Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw said informing the players who were omitted from the World Cup squad was “devastating” as she made 75 telephone calls when deciding her 31-strong training squad. Pauw also called the players left out a second time and said the Football Association of Ireland will provide support to those who missed out. The final 23-player squad, plus three reserves, will be named on 29 June.
Pauw said “I am very much aware that I have broken dreams. It’s elite sport, you have to make choices. I wish I could bring them all but we can’t.” She added that she “had to stop for a moment” because the calls to players were so difficult.
The Dutch manager said “the tightest decisions” are yet to come when narrowing down her final squad before the announcement. Because Aoife Mannion was not named in the 31 but is likely to be included if fit, up to nine players could be cut from the training squad for the final 23 that go to the World Cup. However, an additional three players will travel to Australia as reserves to be injury back-up before the tournament and also to help with training and preparation.
The Republic of Ireland’s first game is against co-hosts Australia on 20 July before matches against Canada and Nigeria in Group B. Pauw said “after all the talks and analysis that we have done, we are sure about this squad.” She added that “every player that comes into the camp has the same chances [to make the final squad]. We have to make our final decisions on the basis of what you show in camp.” She gave an example of Lucy Quinn, who was coming in off a standby list for the USA games, and ended up being player of the match. Pauw concluded by saying “it can happen like that with any player and we will stay open until the last second of the decision.”