Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw has absolute faith her team will stand up to the world number one-ranked USA on American soil on Saturday night.
Ireland face the reigning World Cup holders in Austin in the first of two friendlies [live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm].
It's a onerous test for the Girls in Green but Pauw believes it will serve them well as they ramp up preparations for their World Cup opener against Australia in Sydney in July.
Adversity builds character, insisted Pauw, referencing past experiences with her native Netherlands who she led to the Euros back in 2009.
"It could go wrong, but if you fear failure you will never succeed," she told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue.
"That is what is in this group so strongly, and they know it, we discuss it. It can happen.
"Before the European Championships in 2009, the Netherlands was going for the very first time, the last [warm-up] game was against Germany. After 15 minutes we were 4-0 down. That will not happen here, but at the end we lost 6-0 and everybody said, 'why did you do that?'.
"It was the first time... a full stadium, the whole stadium singing the anthems, getting goosebumps, getting into a game, being overwhelmed, having to repack yourself. In that European Championships we actually went to the semi-finals. That game against Germany brought us to a point where we could face that pressure.
"So I do not fear it at all. We'll do everything to make Ireland proud again, to make ourselves proud, to give them a very good game and we'll see what happens."
Pauw also spoke about the presence of Sinead Farrelly in the Irish camp this week.
The US-born midfielder has been training with the squad and is eligible to represent the Girls in Green; she played with the USA up to the Under-23s but was never capped at senior level.
Farrelly recently signed a one-year contract with Gotham FC after an eight-year absence from the game. Her 2021 allegations against former Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley led to investigations that found widespread sexual abuse and misconduct in the NWSL.
"I need to sit down with Sinead and talk with her about the next phase," Pauw said when asked about the possibility of Farrelly being in the frame to make the World Cup squad.
"I've been in contact from the moment she was thinking of starting to train again. It's not just something out of the blue. But of course, step by step. She's been out for a long time, she needed to start getting confidence in her body again. It looks like she's there."
Denise O'Sullivan [above] could captain Ireland on what will be her 100th international appearance.
Pauw praised the professionalism of the influential Corkwoman, who is hugely respected Stateside for her consistent excellence in the NWSL with North Carolina Courage.
"Denise is such a professional... she approaches the game independently," added Pauw.
"She makes sure that she's ready, always, and in her way she is an example for every single squad memeber in the sense of what it is to be a professional football player.
"She always thinks of the team, she always sacrifices herself in her role for the team and everything she does is in the sense of 'we', and never 'I'. She's such a good player."
Watch USA v Republic of Ireland on Saturday from 7pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app.
