Marissa Sheva, the 26-year-old midfielder from Sellersville, is headed to the World Cup as part of the Republic of Ireland team, writes Jonathan Tannenwald for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sheva earned her first Ireland call-up for the Irish squad in February. She qualifies to play for the European team because of her mother’s Irish roots. She still has family members who live in Ireland.

“It’s surreal, and it doesn’t feel like it’s happening yet,” said Sheva. “I think that it probably won’t feel real until I’ve landed in Australia and we’re preparing for the opening game of the tournament.”

For Sheva, this represents a childhood dream come true and she is well aware of what a special experience this will be.

“Opening against the hosts in front of 80,000 people in Sydney, it’s going to be an amazing experience, but it’s going to be tough,” she said. “I think we’ve shown that we are a gritty group and that we have a lot of talent and we’re one of the hardest-working teams I’ve ever been a part of. So I think we have a chance to squeak out of the group.”

Read more about Marissa Sheva in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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