Sheridan is hoping to help guide Ireland in World Cup
DILLON Sheridan will be hoping to play his part in the Republic of Ireland Cerebral Palsy soccer team’s IFCPF World Cup campaign in Seville next week despite having been out of competitive action with sinus trouble for the past six months.
The Cherry Orchard player has been named on the squad that heads out to Spain today (Thursday) for the tournament in which they will face off against Finland in their opening fixture on Monday.
Ballyfermot man Dillon Sheridan will be hoping to bring his experience to bear on Ireland’s IFCPF World Cup campaign.
This will be followed by a clash against one of the favourites for the tournament Iran on Wednesday with a final group game against the USA on Friday, July 12.
Sheridan will be a valuable addition to the panel having picked up the Golden Boot award at the Cerebral Palsy World Cup in Argentina back in 2017, when he hit 10 goals that went a long way to seeing Ireland finished sixth.
He was also crucial part of the team that won bronze at last year’s European Championships in which they beat host nation, The Netherlands, in a third-place play off.
Yet he is not likely to enjoy the same amount of game time that he had in those tournaments due to the fact that he has been only returning to training over the past month.
“I’ve been out since Christmas, so my role with the team will be different this time” he told The Echo.
“It’ll be my seventh tournament and I’ll be there more just as a senior figure around the squad, but I might be brought on if they we need to nick a goal.
“I’ve been back training and the last two weeks have been very good, but there are some good young players coming through.
“It’s a tough group that we’re in and it could come down to the USA game. We’re two teams pretty much at the same level and it could go either way. We just have to make sure we’re the better team on the day” he stressed.
Looking ahead to next week’s challenge, Ireland Head Coach Paul Breen said “There’s a strong core to this team and they have played together for a good while and know each other’s game.
“Finland will present a challenge, Iran are considered one of the strongest in the World Cup as are the USA, but we have no reason to fear any team.”
“We know our game and we know our strengths and the squad is a perfect mix of both experience and youth.
“We have prepared well for the World Cup and are going to Seville confident and excited by the challenge ahead of us.
“We were training once a month and this included a camp at Johnstown where we faced The Netherlands in two friendlies and on both occasions we won.
“As we got closer to the World Cup we’ve trained once-a-week at Abbotstown and that has prepared us well for what is a tough group” he said.
