Three weeks after their World Cup qualifying hopes ended with a 3-0 defeat away to Poland, the Republic of Ireland complete their group campaign with a match against Belarus in Drogheda this evening.

Manager Mick Cooke is using the game to try out a number of younger players and will give a home debut to Shamrock Rovers' Paula O'Neill, who will partner captain Yvonne Lyons in the centre of defence, while Sylvia Gee of Tipperary, who will start on the bench, is expected to make her first senior appearance. Cooke rates Belarus, who the Irish beat 1-0 in Mogliev last September, as the group's most talented team, but their travel arrangements for their away fixtures did little to help their qualifying ambitions. The squad arrived in Dublin at 8.0 yesterday morning, after travelling by coach across Europe for the match - precisely the same way they journeyed to Bangor for their meeting with Wales last month.