World Cup fever is building, and the queasy excitement that comes with it is beginning to hit home for Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.
Brosnan was named Senior Women's Player of the Year at the FAI's International Awards on Tuesday evening after starring in Ireland's breakthrough qualification campaign.
The Everton stopper was consistently excellent in crucial wins against Finland, Slovakia and Scotland as the Girls in Green booked their ticket to the finals in Australia and New Zealand.
It all kicks off in Sydney on 20 July against the Aussies, but the 27-year-old is trying to focus on the here and now, with a busy schedule keeping anxious players occupied.
Ireland host Zambia in a friendly on Thursday, Pauw names her final 23-player World Cup squad a week later, and seven days after that there's a farewell friendly against France.
"It's been amazing," said Brosnan. "There's just a buzz in the air, everyone's so excited to be back in with the group, back around the girls and to see the fans and the support that we have, it's really special to be here.
"The country is really proud of us and we want to show them some good football and get ready to play this summer.
"Coming into camp, it's been a bit more real than it has. We've been waiting for so long and we're a bit closer now. Everyone's starting to get that feeling that the World Cup is right around the corner."
If Ireland are to emerge from a group containing Australia, reigning Olympic champions Canada, and a strong Nigeria side, Brosnan will have to be at her very best.
They've often been indebted to her in games against the stronger nations; she was particularly good in the 1-1 draw against Sweden in Gothenburg back in April 2022.
She's a shoo-in to start between the posts at the tournament, not that Brosnan is taking anything for granted.
"Obviously there's always competition in the squad, I think we know how strong of a squad we have here and how fierce the competition is.
"Everyone knows that's part of this top sport in international football, so it's something that we deal with for sure.
"This is kind of like a pre-season for us because we're in a bit early so I think it's just getting moving, getting back into it, and then we'll continue to build from there. Each week brings a new challenge with the preparation games and getting closer to the World Cup."
Reflecting on her player of the year award, Brosnan added: "Really, really proud moment for me and for my family. I'm really grateful to be a part of this group and to be able to put on this shirt. It's unbelievable for me, it's kind of hard to describe how much it means to me.
"There's excitement for sure. Obviously everyone's really happy to be in and around each other again, we have a great group of girls here and we love spending time with each other. It's that nervous excitement to be able to train and obviously putting in those performances to get on the plane to go this summer."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Zambia on Thursday night from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
