Ruesha Littlejohn ready to 'ride the waves' in Sydney showdown

Ruesha Littlejohn says the Republic of Ireland are tough enough to "ride the waves" in Sydney as they prepare to enter a World Cup cauldron.

The Girls in Green have an incredibly difficult opener in their first ever appearance at the tournament, with Tony Gustavvson's Matildas seemingly peaking at the perfect time.

Last Friday Australia beat France 1-0 in Melbourne thanks to substitute Mary Fowler's second-half strike. A high-quality contest was the perfect prep for the host nation, and in stark contrast to Ireland, who played Colombia behind closed doors at the same time.

That game ended after 20 minutes after a tackle on Denise O'Sullivan that left her on crutches and wearing a protective boot; her availability for Thursday is still not guaranteed.

Littlejohn was also on the end of a heavy Colombian challenge that night but the midfielder shrugged it off - "I’m a strong girl, I’ll be fine" - and is now eyeing what would be a sesmic shock.

"I think it's important we know our strengths and play to our strengths, obviously we're playing very tough opposition," she said.

"We couldn’t have had a worse group probably. We’re playing at a World Cup, there are never going to be easy games but we would like to show what we can do too. I think a lot of people probably outside Ireland don’t expect much from us. But at the same time, that's okay.

"There is pressure on us. It’s our first major tournament. It’s going to be tough, it’s going ot be difficult. We’re going to ride a few waves, weather a few storms, I’m sure.

"But we look at the players in this team and we know the quality that we have. We know what players can make stuff happen and hopefully we can play to our strengths."

Littlejohn will be hoping to put herself in the shop