- Macdara Ferris
- Thu, Feb 22 2024
The Republic of Ireland women’s side are set to face Italy in a friendly in Florence on Friday ahead of next week’s home match in Tallaght against Cymru the following Tuesday (kick off 5.15pm).
The match will be shown live on RTÉ NewsNow.
Eileen Gleeson’s side in their first game of 2024 will be without Jamie Finn who suffered an ACL in training with Ireland during the week.
The Girls in Green are also still looking for international clearance for Emily Murphy.
Four players have returned to the Ireland squad following long absences due to injury (Niamh Fahey – 7 months, Leanne Kiernan – 8 months, Aoife Mannion – 10 months, Jess Ziu – 17 months).
This will be the seventh time Ireland have played Le Azzurre, with the fixture coming in the middle of a nine-day camp that includes the game in Tallaght Stadium against Wales.
Italy are 14th in the FIFA rankings (compared with Ireland’s 24th position) and finished second in their UEFA Nations League group, behind World Champions Spain, having, like Ireland, competed at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The game will be played in Viola Park - the home base for ACF Fiorentina. This will be Eileen Gleeson’s first fixture as permanent manager of the Girls in Green having won six out of six in the UEFA Nations League as interim boss.
The matches against Italy and Wales for part of her preparations for the UEFA EURO 2025 Qualifiers, which kick off in April. The qualification draw is due to take place on 5 March.
WNT SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses), Sophie Whitehouse (Lewes)
Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (Reading – on loan from West Ham United), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Caitlin Hayes (Celtic), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Lily Agg (Birmingham City), Megan Connolly (Bristol City), Ruesha Littlejohn (London City Lionesses), Heather Payne (Everton), Jess Ziu (West Ham United), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United), Jess Fitzgerald (Peamount United)
Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Emily Murphy (Wake Forest University)
