Katie McCabe is this Republic of Ireland team's best player, cut from the same cloth as peak Steven Gerrard: an all-action force of nature with a tendency to be relentlessly drawn to the ball.
In Gerrard's playing days debate would rage about how best he should be deployed.
The Liverpool man started his career at right-back, moved into the middle, was often used by Rafa Benitez on the right wing, then dovetailed with Fernando Torres as a No 10 before finally winding down his playing days as a deep-lying No 6.
McCabe has been similarly moved around the pitch for club and country, though recently at Arsenal she’s found herself in the position she dreads most: the bench.
In January a number of Irish fans – including Shelbourne skipper Pearl Slattery – made the journey to London for the top-of-the-table WSL clash between the Gunners and Chelsea only to be greeted by the news that McCabe wasn’t starting.
She came on in the 81st minute for Lena Hurtig, picking up a yellow card towards the end of a 1-1 draw. Manager Jonas Eidevall has overlooked the Tallaght native a few more times since.
Two weeks after that game, Chelsea – clearly sensing an opportunity – made a £250,000 bid for McCabe that was flatly rejected. It was a bold move by the Blues that caused quite a stir around the league.
McCabe’s contract is up in 2024 and though she has consistently stressed her desire to stay at Arsenal, no one would blame her for being tempted to go and play under a coach as respected as Emma Hayes. A big summer move would not be a complete shock.
Last week’s international camp in Marbella offered McCabe the chance to get away from her club frustrations. However the 0-0 friendly draw against world No 14-ranked China did expose a couple of familiar issues for Ireland.
Vera Pauw is an experienced, highly astute coach so she doesn't need anyone to tell her that her side lack goals. Ireland have lost just once in 12 matches and conceded five times. They’ve scored 30 goals in that period; but 20 of them came in the two fixtures with Georgia. Take them out and Ireland have scored 10 goals in 10.
Break down where they came from and it’s even more telling: Denise O’Sullivan (3), Megan Connolly (free-kick), Katie McCabe (2), Lucy Quinn, Louise Quinn, Lily Agg and Amber Barrett - all from defence and midfield bar striker Barrett, who came off the bench in Scotland to prod home a famous winner.
Defensively Ireland are clearly excellent – organised and resilient. But Pauw’s preference for a 3-5-1-1 that often sags into a 5-4-1 makes it really difficult for the side to control possession in the middle of the park.
In Ireland’s best results – the draw in Sweden, the wins at home and away to Finland, the play-off victory over the Scots – they’ve managed to soak up incessant pressure and then counter with a clinical blow either off a setpiece or on the break.
The question is if they concede first, which they did not do in any of those games, will they have the capacity to change tack and take the game to quality opponents?
Pauw has spent the last couple of months stewing on how to make her team more potent offensively, admitting that a lot of time on the training pitch in Spain was devoted to building attacks from the back, keeping the ball better and controlling play.
She wants to strike a balance between maintaining defensive solidity and being more creative. Hence McCabe starting in a more advanced role against China, as a second attacker off Heather Payne.
You could see the logic; the problem was that by playing McCabe further forward, Ireland lost the power she brings to the middle of the park and they struggled to shuttle the ball through the thirds into their captain’s feet with any regularity.
After 20 minutes, McCabe became frustrated and dropped deeper and deeper to get involved in the play. It led to lengthy periods of Chinese pressure with Payne isolated up top. Ireland held out but a Sam Kerr-led Australia are likely to be far more clinical in such a scenario when the sides face off at the World Cup in July.
Pauw has strongly hinted that she will bring in another new face for April’s double-header against the USA. It’s a decent bet that will be a striker or a creative midfielder, someone capable of offering a fresh threat. Payne, Pauw’s preferred striker, is a tireless outlet but she has scored once in 31 caps. Her best work is done outside the box.
It's a conundrum that may actually have no solution. Pauw might just have to accept that McCabe is her best asset no matter where she lines up and the priority will be to make sure she's in areas where she can get on the ball most, ie central midfield.
Courtney Brosnan has matured into a rock-solid goalkeeper; Louise Quinn remains the lynchpin of a tight defence; and Denise O'Sullivan is blessed with a razor-sharp intelligence that can fillet any opposition rearguard.
But McCabe plays with a purpose and physical force that makes her Ireland's de facto leader.
She was 21 years old when the squad held a press conference at Liberty Hall to detail the unacceptable environment the women's team was having to operate in. On Wednesday, McCabe wore a rainbow armband on her left bicep and a purple wristband lower down her arm as a show of solidarity with Canada, who are currently embroiled in a bitter fallout with Canada Soccer over pay equity and funding cuts.
She spoke articulately about about her reasons for doing so, utterly comfortable in her role as team leader and squad ambassador.
When asked about the prospect of playing the Americans in April she said: "They're stars in their own right over there, what they stand for, and they use their platform in such a positive way and I fully support that. But at the end of the day, we're stepping on the pitch and it's 11v11.
"I can confirm no one will be starstruck."
She certainly won't. McCabe carries herself with the authority of someone bursting with self confidence.
How effectively Ireland harness her unique power will be key to their fortunes Down Under.
