Irish Daily Star - Inside Sport
O’SULLIVAN GOT TIRED OF BEING ON THE OUTSIDE
DENISE O’SULLIVAN says it was “gut-wrenching” to watch teammates fly away to major tournaments, leaving her behind.
But this time O’Sullivan — who wins her 100th senior cap tonight when Ireland take on the USA in Austin, Texas — is set to join the best on the planet in this summer’s World Cup.
She will be part of the first Ireland squad to take part in a major tournament and the 29-year-old midfielder cannot wait.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “The past six years at the Courage I have been in teams with five or six international players always going to a World Cup, a major tournament.
“I was the one left behind, so it was always gut-wrenching at that time.You were wishing that you could be going along with them.
Exciting
“But now I am doing it, it’s a really exciting time and I am buzzing to be going with this team as it’s a very special team.”
O’Sullivan has bigtournament experience as one of four players in Vera Pauw’s latest squad to have made it to the quarter-finals of the Under-17 World Cup in 2010.
Less than a year later, the Cork native made her senior debut in a friendly against Wales, scoring twice.
Almost 12 years on and O’Sullivan is on the verge of her 100th cap.
“It’s amazing, an absolute honour to play for my country,” she said. “I dreamt of this since I was a kid but to be going on to get 100 is something really special so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I remember my debut to this day, it feels like a long time ago. I got on the scoresheet twice, so it was a pretty big game for me.
Years
“Back in that time, there were players around me, the likes of Ciara Grant, Emma Byrne, Yvonne Tracy, she really took me under her wing at the time.
“So they really helped me during those years.
“My debut is something I will always remember. Now to go onto my 100th cap, the journey has been incredible. Hopefully there are many more to come.”
It’s been quite a journey for the North Carolina Courage star, with plenty of highs and lows.
Asked for her toughest day in a green jersey, she replied: “100 per cent, the heartbreak of that away game against Ukraine (with Euro 2022 qualification on the line).
“For weeks after that I didn’t sleep. It was absolutely devastating to be so close to a major tournament. To not get there was definitely the lowest moment of my career and of this team.
“But we have grown a lot now and that moment brought us to the best moment of my career, and that would be the night against Scotland, qualifying for the World Cup.
“It was incredible. It was so deserved for this team.
“As a team we did have a lot of low moments, but as I said, we have grown from those moments.
“We have grown a lot as a team, we are after becoming really mature and we can handle these high-pressure games now.”