Although Germany remain hot favourites to win Group I, three points for the Irish tomorrow afternoon would send them to top spot as the unbeaten side continues its push for what would be a historic qualification for the finals in England next summer.

The nine group winners and the three best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualify directly for the final tournament, while the remaining six runners-up advance to play-offs in October.

“We know what to expect from Montenegro and we will need to apply a lot of pressure to break through and score the goals that we need to win the game,” says Pauw. “So that is what we have been preparing for.

“We haven’t had that much time together to work as a team with only a few days training before the Greece game, but I’ve told the players that the more time we have together then the better we will become in possession and in finishing chances in front of goal. And that, ultimately, is what we need to do in order to take the three points.

“We have prepared well for this game and we are looking forward to it.”

In squad news, Stephanie Roche has been called in to replace Chloe Mustaki (knee), while Emily Whelan was recalled from the Women’s Under-19s following an injury to Heather Payne (hamstring).

Kick-off tomorrow is at 3pm Irish time and the game is being televised live on RTÉ 2