Vlatko Andonovski is running out of time to judge potential U.S. women’s team World Cup players

The closer a World Cup gets, the louder the countdown clock ticks. And in the final months before a tournament, the ticking gets mighty loud.

The U.S. women’s soccer team has just two games left before manager Vlatko Andonovski names the 23 players he’ll take to New Zealand and Australia in July. In just a handful of days, those games – both against the Republic of Ireland – will be over.

Ireland’s not the highest-profile opponent, ranked No. 22 in FIFA’s global standings and heading to its first World Cup. Arsenal’s Katie McCabe, the North Carolina Courage’s Denise O’Sullivan, and Manchester United’s Aoife Mannion are the top players.

But this moment isn’t about how the Americans handle their opponent. It’s about how they’ll handle themselves.

In particular: Will Andonovski give the playing time to his expected World Cup starters so they can keep building chemistry, or to players battling for the final seats on the plane?

» READ MORE: Julie Ertz is grateful for a chance to return to the USWNT, even if the timing is awkward

“We’re going to play a lot of players‚” he said in a news conference Friday, ahead of the game Saturday in Austin, Texas (2:30 p.m., TNT, Universo, Peacock). The teams will meet again Tuesday in St. Louis, Mo. (7:30 p.m., Universo, HBO Max, Peacock).

“We understand that this is our last opportunity to see certain players in certain positions,” Andonovski continued. “I can’t say we’re going to see everyone on the field, but we will see most of them on the field at certain points in time in these two games.”

The big question is amplified by three factors. The first is Julie Ertz’s return to the team after more than 600 days off the field. The second is the fact that this month’s roster has 26 players instead of the usual 23, and three will be scratched for each game.

The third is Andonovski’s claim Friday that some players not on this squad could still make the World Cup team, though he didn’t say who.

“I am almost certain — actually, I’m positive that we’re not going to come out [of this month] with the 23 [for the World Cup] in mind,” he said. “Decisions will be made in this camp, but also, some decisions will have to be made between this camp and the next camp.”

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Andonovski also said not every player will be judged equally.

“There’s a group of players that we believe are performing well, or have performed well, for a longer period of time — a group of players that we’re happy with,” he said. “We know that as long as they don’t drop below certain levels, that they’re going to be fine. But then there is a certain group of players that every game may matter [for], because they’re competing against someone else.”

When it comes to Ertz, Andonovski barely hid which group she’s in.

“Julie Ertz is looking good,” he said excitedly. “She’s competing well, she’s fit, and we’re happy to have her back. Obviously, she’s going to need a little bit of time to get game-fit, to get game-ready. But that’s why we’re here, [and] that’s why she’s getting in a club team soon, to get as ready as possible.”

Nor did Andonovski hide what he wants to see.

“Hopefully she performs well and earns her next call-up,” he said, knowing that next call-up would take her to her third straight World Cup.

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Just under a week after Sinead Farrelly played her first pro soccer game since 2015, the Havertown native has joined Ireland’s camp – and made quite an impression.

Farrelly signed with Gotham FC in late March, a surprising return two years after exposing abuse in the sport.

Ireland manager Vera Pauw told reporters in Austin on Friday that Farrelly would start Saturday. O’Sullivan called her new teammate “the standout player” of training camp.

In an interview with the Irish team’s website, Farrelly noted that she lived in Ireland for part of her childhood, her father is from there, and many of his family members still live there. She’s had dual citizenship for nearly a decade.

“Ireland’s always been really interwoven into our life and my family life, so it feels a little surreal,” she said. “But I feel really honored and proud to be wearing this badge.”

» READ MORE: Havertown’s Sinead Farrelly signs with Gotham FC two years after NWSL abuse scandal

The 33-year-old played for U.S. youth national teams growing up, and at one point was in contention to make the 2011 World Cup team. But she declined a call-up – and a potential roster spot with it – that spring, and never ended up playing for the senior squad.

Because of that, Farrelly could still file a one-time nationality switch with FIFA. The Irish national team said she had spoken with Pauw “over the last two years,” and now Farrelly has made the switch.

“I was still trying to figure out if I could do this, and my body could do this, and I wanted to try and make a team in the U.S. first and have a solid club,” Farrelly said. “It’s an honor and I don’t want to take it for granted, and I just want to be present and enjoy every moment of it and not freak out.”

Farrelly is one of two players with Philly-area connections on the Irish squad. The other, Sellersville’s Marissa Sheva, made her debut in February.

» READ MORE: Bucks County native Marissa Sheva plays for the Republic of Ireland women’s soccer team