Ireland women return to Euro action in Germany

Sean Dancer’s side, ranked 13th in the world, have been drawn in Pool B and will play England (6), Scotland (18) and Germany (4) in the first phase of the tournament.

A total of eight teams will compete across two pools, with the top two in each pool qualifying for the semi-finals.

A top-six finish for Ireland would secure a spot in next January's Olympic Qualification groups in Spain or China and would also secure Ireland's place in the 2025 European Championships in the first tier of nations.

Ireland captain Katie Mullan said: “We have played against the top three ranked nations in the world earlier this year, having taken on Argentina a few months ago and the Dutch a few weeks ago, and we got our best result in recent years against the Netherlands.

"Five of the top ten highest nations in the world rankings are taking part in the tournament so it will be a real challenge for us, but we feel we are ready to face that challenge.

"Looking at the Pool opponents themselves we also play regularly against England, Scotland and Germany either in friendlies or competitively, so we know each other well. This group of players will be ready for the challenge that we face starting on Friday.”

A year ago, Dancer's side qualified for the Euros by winning a four-team tournament in Dublin, while eight months ago they finished fourth in the FIH Nations Cup in Valencia.

Ireland play England in their opening game this afternoon (16:00 BST).

Head coach Dancer said: "As a group we have made fantastic improvements over the past 12 months on and off the field and we have high ambitions, knowing the tough challenge of a very competitive European Championship.

"This year's European's also doubles as the first step of the Olympic Qualification process, adding extra pressure on all those involved.

"We will need to stay focused on ourselves and playing our attacking style of play."

After the England game, Ireland are back in action on Saturday against Scotland (19:15 BST) and play their final group stages game on Tuesday against Germany (18:30 BST).