Favourites Ireland can handle playoff pressure against Wales, insists Denise O'Sullivan
EURO VISION: Denise O'Sullivan during a Republic of Ireland women press conference at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Denise O’Sullivan insists Ireland can handle the pressure of expectation as they head into the first leg of their Women’s Euro playoff against Wales on Friday.
A place at next summer’s 16-nation showpiece in Switzerland is at stake over two legs, starting in Cardiff City’s Stadium before concluding next Tuesday at Lansdowne Road.
As the higher-ranked team, and the one of the two with previous experience of tournament qualification, Ireland are favourites to prevail.
Thirteen years have passed since Cork native O’Sullivan marked the first of her 117 caps with both goals of a 2-0 win against the Welsh in Newport.
Both teams have progressed since, Ireland especially so as they are 180 minutes, possibly 210 if extra-time required on Tuesday, away from securing back-to-back finals appearances.
After beating Scotland two years ago to reach the World Cup in Australia, another batch of Celtic Cousins are blocking Ireland’s route.
Centurion O’Sullivan is a resource for the newcomers, should the occasion and its significance become daunting.
“We know there’s a lot of pressure but I think we're more prepared than ever and we can handle that,” said O’Sullivan, whose season at American side North Carolina Courage finished two weeks ago.
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“We, as players, do have these little conversations. I think the only conversations we're having is how excited we are, how prepared we are for this game against Wales. We're all looking forward to it.
“It’s just about remaining calm in camp, preparing as well as I can every single day.
“For me, some younger players look up to me. We just keep them calm and any questions they have. They know that we’re there.”
The squad flew from Dublin on Wednesday, some players and staff meeting Oscar-nominated Irish actor Brendan Gleeson in their Cardiff hotel on the eve of the match.
As reported in the Irish Examiner this week, Aoife Mannion didn’t report into camp despite being named in the original squad by Eileen Gleeson. The Manchester United defender has been sidelined with a muscle injury and Liverpool centre-back Niamh Fahey appears well-placed to deputise.
“I don’t think either team will want to be going in trailing two or three goals down,” surmised the manager about the prospect of the first leg being decisive.
“It’s critical for both teams to remain in the tie for the second leg. We’ll have home advantage for the second leg.”
The next Euros will be held in Switzerland between July 2-27. It will be the third edition to feature 16 nations, of which nine are already known.
These are the hosts, along with the eights team to secure a top-two finish across the four League A pools contested between April and July this year. They are group winners Italy, Germany, France and World champions Spain, along with runners-up Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands and reigning champions England.
Uefa entered 28 teams into the two-round playoffs to decide the last seven finals spots. Those finals are taking place over two legs, on Friday and Tuesday, with the seeded teams enjoying home advantage in the second.
They are Sweden v Serbia (5.45pm), Belgium v Ukraine (8.15pm), Austria v Poland (6.15pm), Norway v Northern Ireland (6pm), Finland v Scotland (6.15pm), Czechia v Portugal (5.45pm) and Wales v Ireland (7.45pm).
Prize money for the qualifiers has not been finalised but anticipated to be almost double the €1m for each of the finalists in 2022.
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