KYRA HAS NO FEAR FACTOR
Carusa says Ireland unfazed by group
KYRA CARUSA says there is no reason to fear Ireland’s daunting Euro 2025 challenge.
The Girls in Green have been drawn alongside England, France and Sweden — ranked second, third and sixth in the world respectively — in Group A3.
They have the safety net of a guaranteed play-off place later this year regardless of their performance in the qualifiers.
However, manager Eileen
Gleeson (inset) has already spoken of her desire to get to the finals in Switzerland automatically.
And San Diego Wave striker Carusa believes the pathway is there as long as the Irish approach their games with the right mentality.
They kick off their campaign against France in Metz on Friday before hosting European champions England at the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday.
Rivals
Carusa, whose clubmates Hanna Lundkvist and Sofia Jakobsson are Swedish internationals, has some insight into how Ireland’s rivals are feeling ahead of the campaign.
“You know Ireland, we are always difficult to beat,” she said.
“When we got the draw, my Swedish teammates looked at me and it was, ‘Honestly, anyone but you guys’.
“Because they know, we’ve been in competition with them recently, no-one wants to have to play us.
“That’s such a huge advantage to us, but also we have the ability to win a game like that.
“We have the quality and the belief that we can score a goal and that we have the difference-makers.” Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Sweden in Gothenburg was crucial to last year’s historic World Cup qualification. Performances against the Scandinavians, against Australia, Canada and Nigeria in last summer’s finals, and in the scoreless draw away to Italy in February have injected fresh belief into the squad ahead of their Euro 2025 campaign.
“I think we have developed a lot as a team in terms of our confidence and ability, the difference-makers that we have,” said Carusa.
“You could see with the top nations at the World Cup they have those players who can change a game for them, score winners…. that’s something that we’re incorporating more.
“A huge part of it is having the confidence that you know you can win a game like that.”
She added: “You have to remember that there is something to be feared in playing us.
“Again we played France before the World Cup, how the first 35 minutes, how frustrating it can be for a team like France, ‘Oh my gosh we’re on the back foot’ and then that just grows.
“Then the narrative for themselves gets written, ‘Oh we didn’t really want to play Ireland’, that gets into them, and you can take advantage of them.
“Playing teams at this level, you have to take advantage of every little piece of it, the physical piece of it, the mental piece of it, I think that there, you said it perfectly, why would you fear playing these games?
Playing
“These are the games you want to be playing.”
France ended up winning that friendly 3-0, with their first two goals that night coming inside first-half stoppage time, while at the World Cup the Irish were once again made to pay for a lapse in the closing moments of the first-half against Canada.
“When I think of that game, and most of the game against top opponents there are always key difference-makers. We call them the ‘big five’ moments,” said Carusa.
“Five minutes before the end of a half or a game, five minutes after a goal; these five-minute periods are hugely important and can make or break teams.
“This is when teams can be the most tuned in and score a goal, change a game or, on the other side, concede a goal.
“And for us, we would have fallen victim to that in the France game when we conceded those two goals before half-time.
“In the Canada game when we had that unlucky concession before half-time which changed the game.
“Those were so crucial for us, to be able to get locked in and not concede, but also take advantage of when other teams are at their most turned.
“Can these teams hold out for that five minutes? Can we make something happen?
“Against Italy, we were really sound about playing consistently the whole way through, holding the game.
“So these are the aspects which I think are really important heading into these games.
“And I’m sure the coaching staff too, they have time to review and assess the teams we’re playing against.
“They will have things to say but ultimately it comes to those little moments that can be determinants between getting results and not getting results.
“And reminding the players that those moments are the difference between being able to compete at this level or not.”
‘No-one wants to have to play us’