Karen Duggan: Ireland are back to being underdogs, but it’s where we want to be

The girls must have forgotten to tell their mammies to light candles because if they had, we wouldn’t have been drawn in this group. Mother of divine God. Nations League A was always going to be a massive step up for us, a reality check, but to be drawn with France, England and Sweden, the third, fourth and fifth ranked nations in the world? You feel like you’re staring down the barrel of a gun.

To be honest, I just started laughing when Swiss goalkeeper Gaëlle Thalmann apologised after pulling our ball out of the bowl to put us in the Group of Death. The draw just couldn’t have been any harder. And sometimes, when your luck is that far out, all you can do is laugh. Nervously, admittedly.

After a Nations League B campaign that put new life in to this Ireland team, the weaker opposition allowing them play more attacking, adventurous football, we’re back to being the underdog now.

It’s a mindset we wanted to get away from, we wanted to start playing more football, taking the game to teams, but what is it they say? We are where we are. And much as wanted to shake off that underdog tag, we have thrived under it – and we’ll need to thrive again if we are to hold our own in this group.

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We will, out of necessity, go back to being completely defensive-minded for this campaign because we will be up against three opponents who are, undeniably, at a higher level than us. We’ll go back to the approach that brought us those highs on the road to the World Cup because when you’re playing France, England and Sweden, you don’t throw caution to the wind. If you do, they are capable of destroying you.

Daunting, to say the least. But I think the draw tempers expectations of this team, there is no pressure on the girls in this group. Who knows, we could snag a point here and there, but it would be a huge shock if we were to get something from this.

There was a notion after the World Cup that once you achieved that qualification, it would become the norm. But this is still very much a developing team, there are lots of young players coming through, so it’s going to take time for it all to come together – and it won’t happen in time for this campaign.

You never know what you’re going to get from France, but when they’re on form, they’re spectacular to watch. And England, the European champions and World Cup finalists, have, over the past few years, become a powerhouse, and they now have the strongest league in the world. And for all the talk about Sweden not being the force they once were, they were damn good at the World Cup, only losing 2-1 to eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.

The dynamic between those three teams in our group will be really interesting. And it’s not just us looking at this as the Group of Death, they will be too, they’ll hardly be happy with the draw either.

You’d hope for some complacency when they play us, but it’s doubtful that we’ll see any because they all have a point to prove – France always feel like they can do better, Sweden want to get back on top and England want to remain Europe’s leading light.

But I loved Denise O’Sullivan’s response to the draw when she tweeted: “We wanted to be here. Now we are. Let’s have it.” That speaks volumes about her. She has an elite mindset and you need that to filter through the team, that you should be buzzing to play against these nations, instead of being fearful. Relish playing at this level, don’t be intimidated by it.

Because getting to compete at this level has been years in the making. While we might not be ready yet to compete in terms of results, we can certainly compete performance-wise. And, ultimately, I believe we can qualify for Euro 2025 through the playoffs, the experience of coming up against opposition of this quality in the group standing to us.

It’s a shot at nothing, it will be a brilliant preparation for the playoffs, and it will be a brilliant experience for the players, they will learn so much. In terms of what it can do for the women’s game in this country, there will be benefits beyond what will happen on the pitch, especially with the crowds that will be driven to these games.

There is, maybe, an argument for playing them in the cauldron that is Tallaght, that the tighter ground and hostile atmosphere would be less comfortable for France, England and Sweden. But if you look at the broader scheme of things, about trying to grow the women’s game, then the Aviva is the place to be – certainly for the game against England. These are going to be massive occasions, bigger than we’ve seen before. As Denise said, it’s where we want to be.

We are steadily growing as a footballing nation, but we still have so far to go. And it goes much deeper than just the national team, it starts with grassroots development, and we’re at least 10 years behind England on that front.

But what this Irish team has done over the last few years to grow the game has been fantastic. This draw, though, is an enormous test of where they are. But we know already that they’re not yet at the level of France, England and Sweden. It’s back to being the underdogs – and, hopefully, thriving again under that tag. It’s too late for lighting candles, Gaëlle Thalmann saw to that.