Ireland to play long game against Germany

Vera Pauw has named Cork City striker Saoirse Noonan in her initial squad for the European Championship qualifier just days after the 21 year-old scored the goals that took her club to next month's FAI Cup final.

Pauw has told her players to take inspiration from Shane Long's memorable goal against Germany in 2015 as they target the win they need against the eight times European Champions in Tallaght on December 1st if they are to qualify.

The coach said on Tuesday that she had sent a video of Long's winner over the then World Champions to all of her players after the defeat by Ukraine to show them what is possible. But she said that winning will be much harder for the players than holding out for the draw had been against the Dutch away a couple of years ago, something that was held up as a major success at the time.

Squad: Hourihan (Braga), Brosnan (West Ham), Moloney (Reading), Reid-Burke (Peamount Utd); Scott (Reading), Keenan (Celtic), Walsh (Peamount Utd), Quinn (Fiorentina), Caldwell (SC Sand), O'Riordan (Duisburg), O'Mahony (Cork City), Atkinson (Shelbourne), O'Gorman (Peamount Utd); Fahey (Liverpool), Finn (Shelbourne), O'Sullivan (Brighton), Murphy (London City), Farrelly (Peamount Utd), Connolly (Brighton), Nolan (London City), Littlejohn (Leicester City), Molloy (Wexford Youths), Ziu (Shelbourne), Whelan (Shelbourne); McCabe (Arsenal), Payne (Florida State), Kiernan (West Ham), Barrett (Koln), Jarrett (Brighton), Carusa (HB Hoge), Noonan (Cork City).