Aine O'Gorman isn't quite ready to walk off into the sunset, but the veteran Republic of Ireland defender admits she'll have to think about her international future after her World Cup dream is over.
O'Gorman started against Scotland in the famous play-off victory that earned them a ticket to the tournament for the first time, but the Shamrock Rovers 34-year-old is currently behind Heather Payne in the pecking order after Vera Pauw redeployed the Roscommon forward as a wing-back.
Nonetheless, O'Gorman is an important figure of experience behind the scenes.
She beamed with pride when Amhrán na bhFiann was played at the Accor Stadium in Sydney before last Thursday's clash with Australia, taking in the sight and sound of over 75,000 fans.
O'Gorman made her debut 17 years ago in the low-key Algarve Cup. It's been some journey.
"We came out of the tunnel earlier and then there was the 'Ole, Ole, Ole', and I went around trying to stay composed," she reflected.
"Everybody was like, just take in the moment, and I turned around and said, 'something’ hell! Then the anthem played. I was beside Abbie [Larkin] and we just belted it out loud and proud.
"Yeah, it was special. All the Irish fans were amazing, louder than the Australian fans, which was great. It was a great moment. Obviously I would like to have gotten on the pitch and we would have liked to have gotten a result on the night, but lots to take out of that evening and we'll move into the next game."
The next game is a showdown with reigning champions Canada in Perth. If Ireland lose they'll be going home after the group stages; win and they have every chance of extending their World Cup adventure into the knockout stages.
O'Gorman has faith the Girls in Green can pull it off, though it would mean spending a litle more time away from one-year old son James.
"He didn’t end up travelling in the end," she said. "They stayed at home. Circumstances changed but all is good. I think it would have been too much.
"I miss him a lot, but here we are, mam’s living her dream. They are watching from back at home.
"We take the positives out of the game and the occasion in Sydney against Australia. We were disappointed with the result, but we have to learn from that going into the Canada game.
"We were flying when the Canada-Nigeria game was on, so we briefly saw some of it [on Friday night]. But we take a step back and regroup... full systems go."
One of Canada's biggest threats is goalscorer supreme Christine Sinclair, who is still going strong at the age of 40.
O'Gorman can't see herself matching that longevity, but with an Aviva Stadium clash against Northern Ireland pencilled in for September - which kicks off a maiden Nations League campaign and then subsequent Euros qualifiers - there's plenty to entice the Wicklow native to stick around.
"No comment," she laughed when asked if the World Cup might be her Irish swansong.
"It would be [a nice way to bow out] but no comment. I won't be here at 40. I think I'll just get through the World Cup first and then I’ll recalibrate.
"I'm always ready to go. I think no one should be happy just to be here. Everyone should be chomping at the bit to play. That competitiveness in the squad is what gets the best out of everyone.
"We have to stay positive in ourselves and positive for everyone else, and stay ready, stay focused on the bench, you are watching the game, in case you are needed or you need to start the next game."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Canada in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Wednesday at 1pm, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on 2fm
