'There were cries of ‘no’ from the Polish when they thought it was them out in our group'

'We wanted to be here, now we are,' Cork native and Ireland playmaker Denise O’Sullivan said on X as dawn broke in her adopted home of North Carolina. 'Let’s have it.'

DAUNTING TASK: Swiss international player Gaelle Thalmann draws out the Republic of Ireland during the Uefa Women's Euro 2025 qualifying draw in Nyon.

It fell to Denise O’Sullivan for the rallying cry to convey transatlantic following Ireland’s most daunting of tests.

Not even their World Cup finals field competes with this for a European Championship qualifying group – France, England and Sweden.