Wisconsin Soccer Central

Shannon Smyth (Mequon/Milwaukee DSHA) and the Republic of Ireland face long odds to make it to the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, but they got their qualifying campaign off to a great start.

Smyth played the full 90 minutes in Ireland's 2-0 victory over Slovakia on Sunday in Dublin. It was the first of 10 qualifying matches for the Irish, who were drawn into Group 1 with defending Women's World Cup champion Germany.

Republic of Ireland manager Susan Ronan discusses qualifying

UEFA has eight berths for the 2015 event, with seven spots going to the winners of the seven qualifying groups. The top four group runners-up then will play off for the final berth.

Smyth picked up a yellow card in the 44th minute Sunday in her 25th cap for Ireland, which has lost only once in six matches in 2013 (3-1-2). They have never qualified for the Women's World Cup or the UEFA Women's Championships.

The Irish play at Croatia on Thursday and at Slovenia on Oct. 30 before three straight home matches in the spring – starting with an April 5 game against Germany, which is ranked second in the FIFA world rankings. Russia, ranked 21st by FIFA, also is in Group 1.

On Twitter: @ShannonSmyth

• Milwaukee Wave forward Nick Perera scored for the second straight match, but the U.S. was eliminated from the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup with a 5-3 extra-time loss to host Tahiti on Saturday in Papeete. Perera set up the Americans' second goal and forced extra time with his goal with 94 seconds left in regulation, but Patrick Tepa scored twice in 39 seconds to clinch Tahiti's spot in the quarterfinals. (Video highlights) The U.S., which lost to Spain 5-4 in its Group A opener, closes out its run at the tournament against United Arab Emirates (0-2) on Monday – the match starts at 9 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN3.