Women's World Cup 2023: Republic of Ireland landed with difficult draw on tournament debut
Vera Pauw's Republic of Ireland side made history in October as they beat Scotland at Hampden Park to qualify for the country's first Women's World Cup.
Adam Millington is a renowned women's football expert, providing content for BBC Sport, Reuters and The i. He is currently in Australia covering the World Cup.
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It's a moment to savour for Ireland as they travel to Australia and New Zealand and they'll be looking to upset the odds and find a way out of the group.
But they're part of a difficult group alongside co-hosts Australia, Canada and Nigeria in Group B and reaching the knockouts on their World Cup debut may be too much to ask.
Group B odds to qualify (via Paddy Power)
- 1/25 - Australia
- 1/5 - Canada
- 10/3 - Republic of Ireland
(Turbo Power Price Boosted to 5/1) - 11/2 - Nigeria
Odds correct 1100 BST (14/07/23)
Who is in the Republic of Ireland's Women's World Cup squad?
Injuries made things more difficult than desired for Pauw as she selected her World Cup squad.
Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion misses out, as does Liverpool striker Leanne Kiernan, who returned for their warm-up game against Zambia but couldn't make the grade for tournament selection.
Captain Katie McCabe, undeniably her country's best player, makes it in as does experienced midfielder Denise O'Sullivan.
Pauw's most interesting selection is 33-year-old Sinead Farrelly, who retired from football in 2016 but returned to the professional game earlier this year and received her first Ireland call-up in April.
Farrelly has been a key improvement since joining the Ireland team and significantly bolsters their strength in midfield.
Which Republic of Ireland players to watch out for at World Cup
If anybody's going to help Ireland get over the line and into the knockout stages, it's going to be McCabe. The full-back adds extra solidity to Pauw's back five but she's most important on the break.
It'll be counter-attacks where the best chances to score come from and McCabe has her talent in that regard at club level with Arsenal, regularly surging up the wing and providing adept deliveries.
The main issue for Ireland is going to be finding a way to score goals, but London City Lionesses' Kyra Carusa could help to somewhat fill the gap left by Kiernan's absence.
She had the ball in the back of the net in their friendly against France after a counter-attack and had the goal wrongly ruled out for offside.
Set-pieces could also be vital with opportunities for open-play goals limited, so 6ft defender Louise Quinn's height, and her timing in the box, could be one avenue for goals to come from.
Pauw also opted to select West Ham youngster Izzy Atkinson and the 21-year-old could provide some much needed energy going forwards.
How far can Republic of Ireland go at Women's World Cup?
Ireland were unlucky with their draw and getting out of the groups won't be an easy feat. In reality, they're likely to finish third.
Australia recently beat England to end their 30-game unbeaten run, are on home soil and enter the World Cup in fine form.
Canada, meanwhile, are reigning Olympic champions and will regard themselves as contenders for the title.
Getting this far is an achievement in itself for Pauw's side, and it's the next European Championships where a better tournament run may be found.
If they're lucky and manage to pick up points against their group's big two then they could maybe finish second, but it’s unlikely.
Republic of Ireland stage of elimination odds (via Paddy Power)
- 1/7 - Group stage
- 9/2 - Round of 16
- 20/1 - Quarter-finals
- 50/1 - Semi-finals
- 100/1 - Winner
- 500/1 - Runner-Up
Odds correct 1100 BST (14/07/23)
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