Denise O'Sullivan's return to action timely for Ireland

The Cork playmmaker was introduced with 20 minutes remaining of a 4-1 win at Bay City this weekend.

Sun, 19 Oct, 2025 - 20:55

John Fallon

Ireland’s prospects of qualifying for the top tier of European nations for the World Cup qualifiers has been boosted by the return to action of Denise O’Sullivan.

The Corkwoman had been sidelined since August with a knee injury and despite encouraging reports on his recovery that saw her included in the Ireland squad the sight of her buzzing around the pitch on Saturday night was a relief.

She was introduced with 20 minutes remaining of Courage’s 4-1 win at Bay City.

O’Sullivan, who has won 125 caps and scored 21 goals, will be a key component of the Ireland team that faces Belgium in a two-leg play.

First up for Carla Ward’s side is the visit of the Red Flames to Lansdowne Road on Friday (7.30pm) before the rematch against the nation ranked seven places above them in Leuven on Tuesday week (7.30pm, Irish).

Captain Katie McCabe, a Champions League winner with Arsenal, is in line to join the centurion club in the second part of the double-header.

Ireland earned the playoff by finishing second behind Slovenia in their Nations League B series but by causing an upset over 180 minutes or more they’ll be guaranteed entry into the playoffs for the 2027 World Cup.

Back to it after 2 months on the sidelines. Proud of the teams fight 💙 pic.twitter.com/0rKsbiE8TW
— Denise O'Sullivan (@OSullivanDenise) October 18, 2025

The draw for the regulation campaign takes place on November 4, with games scheduled between February 26 and June 9.

Europe, like the last World Cup in 2023 that Ireland qualified for, will only have 11 qualifiers in Brazil, with potential to add another via the inter-confederation playoff tournament.

Ireland women’s squad:

Goalkeepers: G Moloney (Sunderland), S Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic), K Keane (Leicester City).

Defenders: H Payne (Leicester City), A Mannion (Newcastle United), J Stapleton (Nottingham Forest – on loan), A Patten (Aston Villa), C Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), H Nolan (Crystal Palace), C Mustaki (Nottingham Forest), K McCabe (Arsenal), I Atkinson (Sunderland).

Midfielders: D O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), R Littlejohn (Crystal Palace), J Finn (Sunderland), T Toland (Durham), M Sheva (Sunderland), J Ziu (Bristol City – on loan), L Quinn (Birmingham City).

Forwards: K Carusa (San Diego Wave), A Barrett (Standard Liege), A Larkin (Crystal Palace), E Murphy (Newcastle United), S Noonan (Celtic).