There'll be bigger fish to fry for the Republic of Ireland over the next six months, but a friendly against a talented China in Marbella is a good way to dip some toes in the water.
Vera Pauw has challenged the Girls in Green to "show where they are" against their world No 14-ranked opponents at Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Cadiz on Wednesday - and that includes the three newbies, Aoife Mannion, Marissa Sheva and Deborah Anne De La Harpe who are all set to make their debuts.
Ireland played Germany in a behind-closed-doors game last Friday which was broken into two 30-minute sections and then one more 45-minute block to allow both sides to utilise their whole squads.
Pauw treated it as a tune-up for China, who were beaten 4-1 by Sweden last Thursday.
The group has spent the last eight days training in Estadio Nuevo Mirador, Marbella, and though it might be tempting to use China's loss to the Swedes as a gauge [Ireland drew 1-1 in Gothenburg in their World Cup qualification campaign], Pauw is not putting much weight on the result.
"To be honest they were just not ready for the pressure - the same reason why we played Germany," she said at the squad's sun-splashed base.
"China were 3-0 behind after 12 minutes. They were just getting into it. After that you could see they were a very good squad, a very decent team and they played an equal game after it.
"You need to get into that mode again. As soon as you are not in mode you will be under bigger pressure. You will see against China that because of this closed-door game that we will be ready for China."
Pauw has a full, hungry squad to choose from. Katie McCabe has been nursing a dead leg while Ruesha Littlejohn and Lily Agg picked up small knocks against Germany but all three are fine.
The three newbies have settled in well, with Mannion particularly vocal in training.
Pauw hinted that one more new face could come in for the next international window in April, and underlined the importance of keeping the panel as competitive as possible.
There will, understandably, be players looking nervously over their shoulders, but it's an unavoidable part of the journey, the manager insists.
"We have lost Jess Ziu, Ellen Molloy [both ACL casualties], Savannah McCarthy is not back and Leanne Kiernan is not in, so they are not just for the first 11, it is to make sure we have a very good squad to bring to the World Cup.
"There’s players that don’t worry, and there’s players that worry about being on the plane. That’s all part of this process.
"We have talks with different players and we have talks after the camp also. No decisions have been made, not at all. Slowly, slowly, it gets a bit clear who is in each area. My way as you know has always been to be honest with players. It will be hard but they need to know where they stand."
Everyone was in good spirits on Tuesday as they soaked up a bit of vitamin C on the palm tree-framed training pitches.
When asked how Mannion, Sheva and De La Harpe had gelled with the rest of the squad, Pauw replied: "Very well. Because they’re so humble coming in, they didn’t come in like, 'look at me’.
"They actually came in and were, ‘let’s hear what it is’. It’s difficult to come into a squad like this, that’s so determined, but all the players have welcomed them so well. They’re really part of the group."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ireland's resilience and defensive doggedness cannot be questioned; it's been the bedrock of their success. But Pauw acknowledges that they can, and probably need to be, better at keeping the ball against stronger teams if they are to continue their evolution.
With that in mind the China friendly offers a precious opportunity to try new things with the stakes a little lower.
"Of course I can hope you can see we have been working on that," the manager added.
"Because we need to grow, we have to grow. And our defensive team-work organisation is fantastic, after seven clean sheets in eight, no defeats. Now we can take risks and find our limits and keep working on that.
"With everybody, you see what the qualities of the players are. And the game system and the game plan are related to your own qualities and in relation to the opponent. So it's not only them but the whole group. We have the potential to increase our teamwork in attacking."
China are the Asian Cup holders and are certainly not to be underestimated. They'll also be at the World Cup this summer, housed in a group with England, Denmark and one of the inter-confederation play-off winners. Ranked nine places above Ireland in the world rankings, beating them in Spain would have to be classified as another scalp.
Still, results are not what it's all about right now; rather progression, and further development.
"We try to make steps now because we have a little bit of time," Pauw added.
"This is not a qualifier or anything so it’s better to make mistakes now rather than at the first game in the World Cup. We are trying to make steps, yeah. Because you can imagine, if you start playing differently, you start to open yourself.
"We need to grow. We have to grow."
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion), Grace Moloney (Reading), Naoisha McAloon (Durham WFC)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Diane Caldwell (Reading), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Claire Walsh (Glasgow City), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Áine O'Gorman (Shamrock Rovers), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), DA De La Harpe (Sydney FC)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Lily Agg (London City Lionesses), Ciara Grant (Hearts), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Isibeal Atkinson (West Ham United)
Forwards: Amber Barrett (Potsdam Turbine), Heather Payne (Florida State University), Kyra Carusa (London City Lionesses), Abbie Larkin (Shamrock Rovers), Marissa Sheva (Washington Spirit)
Follow Republic of Ireland v China from 1pm Wednesday via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, or watch live on the RTÉ News channel.
