Eileen Gleeson’s side face Wales across two legs, with the tie getting underway in Cardiff tonight.
Ireland and Wales are both two games away from their first European Championships.
Wales, on the other hand, are dreaming of reaching their first major tournament, having agonisingly missed out on the last World Cup after an extra-time play-off defeat. Gleeson wouldn’t be drawn on the favourites tag yesterday: Ireland will be marginally favoured given their five-place advantage in the Fifa World Rankings , recent League A status and major tournament experience.
Wilkinson simmered the potential mind games thereafter. “I don’t pay any attention to it,” the former Canada international said on Ireland being slight favourites. “That’s for someone else to bother about. I don’t play it up at all. We know that it is a team that is very even with us when we played them the last couple of years, it’s on us to show up.”
Kyra Carusa is expected to continue as the focal point up top, with Julie-Ann Russell off her. Leanne Kiernan has been putting her hand up, but could be preferred for impact off the bench. Megan Campbell may offer the same, her long throw-ins a tried-and-trusted threat. It’s a tightrope, too, given the two-legged challenge. Discipline and caution is needed, but Ireland will look to lay down an early marker and be in the ascendancy at the midpoint.“We know we’re up against a really good team tomorrow but we’ve grown in the last 12 months,” O’Sullivan warned. “We played against some top teams, know how to come from behind and get in front, and we take real positives from those tough games going into this match.
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