EXACTLY FOUR WEEKS on from the shocking Slovenia defeat, Carla Ward is due to name her second Ireland squad tomorrow.
The head coach will unveil her selection at 9.30am before a press conference at FAI HQ, with a double-header against Greece up next in Nations League B.
The away fixture is in Crete next Friday, 4 April, before the return tie at Tallaght Stadium the following Tuesday. Ireland will hope to return to winning ways after that alarming 4-0 loss in Slovenia followed a scrappy 1-0 home win over Türkiye in Ward’s first game in charge.
It has been a baptism of fire for the former Aston Villa and Birmingham City boss in her first international management job. The last month will have been busy, with improvements needed. A Greek tragedy must not follow the Slovenia shocker.
Ward will have taken in many games since the last international window. On Sunday, she was at St James’ Park for the first Tyne-Wear derby in the FA Women’s Championship. Newcastle won 1-0 in front of a record crowd of 38,502, with Emily Murphy providing the assist for the winner. Jessie Stapleton also played the full game for Sunderland.
Ward popped up later that night at the Aviva Stadium as the Irish men’s team beat Bulgaria in their Nations League playoff.
Last month’s squad was relatively unchanged from Eileen Gleeson’s reign, barring retirements and long-term injuries. Melisa Filis was the only new recruit, though the Charlton Athletic midfielder didn’t feature in either game.
Filis was among a select number of Irish goalscorers abroad over the weekend, bagging a 90th minute equaliser as the Addicks held Championship leaders Birmingham City to a 1-1 draw, while the in-form Amber Barrett and Tyler Toland were also on the scoresheet elsewhere.
Counter attacking football at it's finest as @CAFCWomen score through Mel Filis following a Birmingham City free-kick deep into added time 🫢#BarclaysWC pic.twitter.com/KliU7xiRYQ
— Barclays Women’s Championship (@BarclaysWC) March 23, 2025
Ruesha Littlejohn was one of three unattached players in the last squad, but the 87-cap midfielder has since signed for Shamrock Rovers.
This means there will be at least one Women’s Premier Division player in this selection: none were included last month, with the 2025 domestic season not yet underway at that point. Several players have caught the eye in the opening three weeks of action, while there was opportunity to impress in a game between a development group and the Ireland U19s last month, but it remains to be seen if any others will make the jump to the senior national team.
U19 duo Katie Keane and Jess Fitzgerald trained with the squad last month, and Rovers goalkeeper Keane will be eyeing an opening with Grace Moloney still a free agent. Moloney and Marissa Sheva remain club-less: Ward previously said “bigger question marks” would arise if the situation endured going forward.
Free-scoring Celtic striker Saoirse Noonan was the most notable absentee from the last squad, but Ward insists she is “massively on the radar” and “very” close to being involved again.
Her continued absence has been puzzling, but the Cork native will hope her first call-up since 2023 comes sooner rather than later.
Upon her appointment in January, Ward detailed plans to draft in dual eligible players like her predecessors Gleeson and Vera Pauw. “How do we find a centre-forward with Irish heritage?” was an early discussion point, as she reached out to agents around the world in her first days at the helm. Whether any further progress has been made on this front will be revealed tomorrow morning.
Interestingly, a rising A-League star by the name of Erin Healy recently shared her ambition to play for Ireland. The 23-year-old American forward, who plays for Adelaide United, qualifies for the Girls In Green through her grandfather.
“I just got my citizenship back in September, and I started thinking how it would be really cool to get an opportunity to play for their national team,” Healy told The A-League website this month.
“So I’ve been talking with my agent and seeing if that’s a realistic goal, and using this season to help me get on their radar. I hope that’s happening, that’s kind of my goal for the next couple of months: to get that opportunity to go play for Ireland and see where it can lead me.”
Ward is certainly aware of Healy — the manager follows her on social media — and while that is not any strong indicator, the situation is one worth keeping an eye on.
The core of tomorrow’s squad should run along familiar lines, spearheaded by Katie McCabe, who recently made her 250th appearance for Arsenal, and Denise O’Sullivan, who marked the new NWSL season with an assist for North Carolina Courage on Saturday.
Louise Quinn (hip), Jamie Finn, Jess Ziu, Lily Agg (ACL) and Tara O’Hanlon (MCL) have been long-term injury absentees, yet to feature under new head coach Ward.
It seems Greece will come too soon for most, if not all, of that cohort, but the picture will become clearer tomorrow. An interesting morning awaits in Abbotstown.
Bravo Napoli!!!