World Cup celebrations paused for an Irish wake

The weather was suitably gloomy at the UCD Bowl on Wednesday as Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw spoke with a of cluster of media, all huddled under the Main Stand to shelter from the spitting rain.

After a week of agonising over her final 23-player World Cup squad [plus three training players], Pauw spent Tuesday breaking the bad news to the ones who hadn't made it.

Today, as she did the rounds with waiting journalists, the emotion of the last few days seemed to catch up on her. At one point a visibly upset Pauw had to walk away to compose herself.

This was not a celebration; this was a wake.

"It’s not so much celebrating the squad, it’s more the pain we all feel of leaving players out," she said.

"I've never experienced this before. It's the bond that I have with the players. It's the hard work. It's also how they stood behind me in difficult times.

"It's how the FAI stood behind me, it's how Ireland has embraced me and it's everything together I think. Telling players that really stood up for you, that you're not taking them to the World Cup and break their dreams...

"Yesterday was the worst day of my career."

It's a horrible, necessary part of the gig but Pauw has stressed that the analysis around each player has been forensic. She's adamant that everyone got a fair chance to stake their claim.

Ultimately, injuries and match fitness were the costliest factors for the four most eye-catching omissions: Aoife Mannion, Megan Campbell, Leanne Kiernan and Jamie Finn, who at least has the consolation of being a travelling reserve.

Mannion has been in a knee brace for a month. It was taken off on Monday and though she has now entered a return-to-play phase, she would not have been ready for any of the three group games against