All the big calls, cuts and surprises as Ireland’s World Cup squad announced

"It's part of elite sport. It's part of it but it hurts."

Vera Pauw's 23-player World Cup squad was confirmed on Wednesday morning, and lots of tough calls were made. The Dutch woman had a press briefing at 11am on Wednesday but, before that, the Irish public were informed, through a press release, of the 23 lucky players to head to Australia and New Zealand, next month. Our Ireland squad live feed has all the big selection talk, reactions and quotes from inside the camp. You can follow it RIGHT HERE: [caption id="attachment_289359" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Substitute Republic of Ireland players stand for Amhrán na bhFiann before during a women's international friendly against Zambia, at Tallaght Stadium. (Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile)[/caption]

Vera Pauw on tough Ireland squad calls

Ahead of her Ireland squad announcement, Vera Pauw spoke of how hard it would be to whittle her selection down to 23 players, with three more making the trip as 'training player' back-ups.

"It’s devastating," she told reporters, earlier this month. "I’m very much aware I have broken dreams and it will have an impact on careers also. We’ve not been taken this lightly as I said all the time.

“Every single player was in the table every single day. It’s elite sport. You have to make choices. I wish I could bring them all. We can’t... The tightest decisions will come still. The players that are closest, of course also players will drop out when the four other players come in. Those are the ones that are tightest."

WATCH HOUSE OF FOOTBALL:

Related articles:

• Katie Taylor on "incredible" Sonia O'Sullivan injustice that denied her Olympic glory
• Record figures highlight popularity of women's football ahead of World Cup
• Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron recapture the magic of boxing
• Sophie O’Sullivan storms up the run-in to book place in NCAA finals

---