Girls in green ready for Samba sisters

IT’s any footballer’s dream – an opening game in the World Cup finals against Brazil. And that’s exactly what is in store for Ireland’s U17 Women’s team when they travel to Trinidad and Tobago next month.

The girls in green earned their historic place in the sun by finishing runners-up in the European Championship finals, only losing out to Spain in a penalty shoot-out in the final. And, as he announced his 21-player squad for the World Cup yesterday, manager Noel King admitted that the side won’t be going into the finals as traditional Irish underdogs.

“The fact that we’re Europe’s second seeds is a bit of a giveaway but we’re hoping we’ll still stay under the radar,” said King. “I don’t want to put any pressure on them at all but these girls are hungry and we’ll continue to encourage them to be hungry to do something special.”