Ireland bring in fresh faces for Hockey World Cup

Ireland coach Sean Dancer has named five uncapped players in his panel for the upcoming World Cup campaign which gets under way on 2 July at Amsterdam’s Wagener Stadium.

It is a fresh-faced side as the post-Olympic evolution of the Green Army continues apace.

Irish Under-21 captain Caoimhe Perdue, Christina Hamill and Siofra O’Brien all starred in the Junior World Cup in April and impressed - alongside Katie McKee and Charlotte Beggs - in recent challenge matches against Scotland and in Japan.

At the other end of the spectrum, the side features five players from the memorable 2018 run to the World Cup final, with Katie Mullan reprising her role as captain.

Ayeisha McFerran was named goalkeeper of the tournament in London four years ago and they are among the leaders in the group along with Lena Tice, Róisín Upton and Deirdre Duke.

"This has been a tough but a very enjoyable period."

"The team are excited about our progress and the opportunities that lie ahead over the next month, and know that anything is possible at a World Cup," said Dancer.

"Our entire group, players and staff have been working extremely hard over the last month, on the basics that a new group has to do. This has been a tough but a very enjoyable period."

Ireland start off on 2 July against the hosts and current world number one side, the Netherlands, with the 9,500-strong venue already sold out.

Next on the agenda is a 5 July date against tournament debutantes Chile (ranked 17th in the world) before concluding the group stage on 6 July 6th against Germany, the world's fifth-ranked team.

The group winners advance to the quarter-finals with the second and third place facing an extra game to reach that stage in the crossover play-offs. Fourth in the group will go