Ireland’s ‘underdogs’ full of confidence heading into women’s Euro semi-final
The Republic of Ireland came in to the UEFA Women’s U19 Championship as the bottom seeds but this faces the Netherlands in the semi-final of the competition at 6pm this evening.
Speaking to breakingnews.ie midfielder Shannon Carson has said the team’s faith in their own abilities drove them even when others were not expecting them to succeed.
“Coming into it (the competition), we were the absolute underdogs, we were ranked last of the teams, “she said. “So far we have beaten the first, second and third seeds so we know we can do it.”
That is not to say the team are under-estimating their opponents.
“We know how good the Netherlands are, we played them in the Elite (phase of qualification.)”
That match, in April, ended in a scoreless draw so there is very little between the two sides.
However, the Irish team has done everything they can to come out on top this time.
“We have been doing focused trainings, all about how they set-up and play.”
“We aren’t taking anything for granted,” continued Carson. “We know it will be a tough match but we are ready.”
The Irish set-up also has to deal with extremes of temperature according to Carson:
“We are doing short training sessions to cope with the heat, and the physio works to keep us cool.”
The heat was extreme enough to warrant cooling breaks in their last match, similar to those in Brazil during the World Cup.
“It’s really warm,” added Carson.
“During the last match it was so hot the ref called a cooling break. The physio and the doctor had ice and wet towels ready to cool the players down.”
The Cork 18-year-old also described the atmosphere in the training camp in Norway for the past few days:
“We are all buzzing, really enjoying it, but at the same time really focused.”
The team also lived up to the country’s reputation for music with an impromptu singsong after training.
“We were relaxing after training and heard the piano,” said Carson.
“It was Ciara O’Connell playing so we all just went over and joined in. The other teams were around as well and they all stopped, listened and clapped us at the end.”
Here’s hoping the team will have plenty more reasons to sing after tonight’s match.
