Women's World Cup co-hosts Australia Women will begin their campaign in front of their own supporters in Sydney when they face Ireland Women on Thursday.

Republic of Ireland will be hoping to spoil the party as they make their first-ever appearance at the major tournament.

Match preview

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Australia will have aspirations of going deep into their home tournament, but first, they must negotiate a tricky group that contains Ireland, Canada and Nigeria.

The Matildas will draw inspiration from the fact that they have progressed to the knockout rounds in each of the last four World Cup finals.

In their most recent fixture, Australia warmed up for the tournament with an encouraging 1-0 win over France thanks to Mary Fowler's second-half effort.

Having won nine of their last 10 internationals, Tony Gustavsson's side will carry significant momentum into their opening match, and their backline will certainly be in a confident mood after recording six shutouts in their previous eight games.

After losing their last three World Cup openers, Australia are looking to begin the tournament with a win for the first time since 2007 when they kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 victory over Ghana.

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Ireland booked their place at their first major tournament with a playoff victory over Scotland after they finished behind Sweden in their qualifying group.

In October's all-important game at Hampden Park, Courtney Brosnan made a crucial first-half save to deny Scotland's Caroline Weir from the penalty spot, before Amber Barrett came off the bench to score a 72nd-minute winner to secure Ireland a place at the World Cup.

Since that historic night in Glasgow, they have gone on to record two victories, one draw and three defeats in six games, before their final warm-up game against Colombia was abandoned after 20 minutes as Ireland felt that the match had become "overly physical".

The Girls in Green will go into their tournament opener as underdogs, and after failing to score in four of their last five games, they know that they will have their work cut out to unlock a resolute Australian defence.

However, Ireland may be keen to point out that they had no trouble finding the net in their most recent meeting with Australia in September 2021 when they claimed a 3-2 victory in Dublin.

Team News

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Tameka Yallop is a doubt after her substitute appearance in Australia's final warm-up game was cut short due to injury.

After coming off the bench to score the winner against France, Fowler has made a solid case to start the opening game.

Australia's record scorer Sam Kerr could be one of the contenders for the Golden Boot, and she will be determined to start the tournament on a positive note when she features up front against Ireland.

As for Ireland, they are hopeful that Denise O'Sullivan will recover in time for Thursday's contest after she sustained a shin injury in the abandoned friendly against Colombia.

Ireland boss Vera Pauw will continue to utilise a back five, which could feature Heather Payne, Louise Quinn, Niamh Fahey, Megan Connolly and Katie McCabe.

Kyra Carusa, who plays for London City Lionesses in the English Championship, is expected to be given the responsibility of leading the line against Australia.

Australia Women possible starting lineup:
Arnold; Carpenter, Hunt, Kennedy, Catley; Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Fowler; Foord, Kerr

Ireland Women possible starting lineup:
Brosnan; Payne, Fahey, Lo. Quinn, Connolly, McCabe; Farrelly, O'Sullivan, Littlejohn, Sheva; Carusa

We say: Australia Women 2-0 Ireland Women

Although we expect Ireland to put up a valiant fight against Australia, we think that they will be outclassed by the tournament co-hosts, who will be determined to claim an opening victory in front of their own supporters.

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