Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw has named her squad for next month's UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 qualifier away to Germany.
The Girls in Green are top of Group I on 13 points after five games played but top seeds Germany are one point behind with a game in hand ahead of the first of two meetings between the teams.
Pauw, who recently renewed terms with the FAI, has handed first call-ups to midfielders Alli Murphy and Ellen Molloy.
US-born Murphy, who qualifies through her grandparents, recently joined London City Lionesses and Molloy is promoted from the Under-17s having also caught the eye with her performances for Wexford Youths.
The Ireland squad, which will be cut down to 23 players, will meet in Germany on September 14th to begin preparations for the game in Essen on the 19th.
After the Germany game, Ireland will travel to Ukraine on October 23rd before finishing off the campaign against the Germans at home on December 1st.
Pauw is excited to resume the qualifying campaign: "It is great to be back preparing for international games again and to continue our goal of qualifying for the European Championships.
"We will travel to Germany knowing that we will face a difficult opponent, but that is part of competing at this level.
"Germany are one of the best teams in world football and we’ve seen their club teams, particularly Wolfsburg, perform so well in the UEFA Women’s Champions League of late.
"So we know what to expect and we have to be ready to play our best game."
"With our players possibly coming from nine different countries, we remain mindful of the protocols in place to deal with COVID-19 and it’s important that we adhere to all medical advice around this game.
"This pandemic is not yet over and we must work together to fight it."
Republic of Ireland WNT Squad
Goalkeepers: Marie Hourihan (SC Braga), Grace Moloney (Reading), Courtney Brosnan (West Ham United), Niamh Reid Burke (Peamount United)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Keeva Keenan (Celtic), Louise Quinn (Fiorentina), Diane Caldwell (SC Sand), Claire O'Riordan (MSV Duisburg), Claire Walsh (Peamount United), Aine O'Gorman (Peamount United), Isibeal Atkinson (Shelbourne)
Midfielders: Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Jamie Finn (Shelbourne), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Alli Murphy (London City Lionesses), Niamh Farrelly (Peamount United), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne), Ruesha Littlejohn (Leicester City), Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths), Stephanie Roche (Peamount United)
Forwards: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Heather Payne (Florida State University), Leanne Kiernan (West Ham United), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Rianna Jarrett (Brighton & Hove Albion), Julie-Ann Russell (Sydney University), Kyra Carusa (HB Hoge)
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
