Ireland look forward to Canada contest

THE Republic of Ireland Women’s U17 side resume their FIFA World Cup today with a Group D clash against north American champions, Canada at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Trinidad (kick-off 9pm Irish time).

Ireland will be eager to bounce back from their opening game against Brazil, when the South American champions scraped a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Noel King’s side.

Meanwhile, Canada may have one eye on the quarter-finals of the competition after they overcame Ghana 1-0 in their first game of the group.

Irish manager Noel King praised his team’s effort following their resilient performance against Brazil but has warned them they will need to reproduce a similar effort if they are to topple Canada.

“We were obviously a little disappointed to lose the first game in what was such a close contest but we were all absolutely delighted with the team’s performance against Brazil, in my opinion, one of the favourites for this competition,” he said.

“However, Canada cannot be underestimated under any circumstance. From what we have seen of Canada in action, they are a formidable, strong, fit and very physical team who are well drilled by their management team.

“For us, Canada represent another major task for our squad at this level. If the team can mirror the performance we showed against Brazil and even improve on those heights, I think there is every chance of an upset,’’ he said.