Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw says it is an anxious wait to find out the extent of Katie McCabe's ankle injury, but is hopeful her World Cup isn’t in doubt.
The Girls in Green signed off ahead of the tournament with a 3-0 home defeat to a French side ranked fifth in the world, where an impressive first-half display was undone by two injury-time goals before the French put the game beyond doubt in the 60th minute with full-back Maelle Lakrar claiming her second goal of the game.
The main concern however will be the injury picked up by captain McCabe who was forced off on the half hour mark after rolling her ankle.
The Arsenal player received medical treatment in the 12th minute, but continued on for a short while before being replaced by Izzy Atkinson.
The incident that led to Katie McCabe receiving attention early in the game before being substituted after half an hour
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 6, 2023
📺 Watch live coverage of Ireland v France 👉 https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE
📱 Updates 👉 https://t.co/cjFYtsqGA9
📻 Live commentary 👉 https://t.co/QHSJNYlfx8 pic.twitter.com/zvzrvB4RSe
Speaking after the match, Pauw admitted the forced substitution had an impact on the game, while remaining optimistic that the knock is a minor one.
"It (injury) definitely changed the game," she told RTÉ Sport. "I thought we were completely in control, You cannot blame the one who is coming on.
"Izzy did really well, but Katie is extraordinary, a different category. Of course you miss that immensely.
"She rolled over, stepped on the foot of the opponent. We cannot say anything now. We will see how it goes.
"Hopefully it will not be too bad."
Pauw was impressed by her team’s attacking intent – Kyra Carusa had the ball in the back of the net before the offside flag went up – and looked the better side for the majority of the opening 45 minutes, before those injury-time sucker punches changed the outlook of the game.
'We need to learn'– Manager Vera Pauw reflects on a 3-0 defeat to France while outlining the injury to Katie McCabe pic.twitter.com/vwBGifwjD5
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 6, 2023
"I was so, so proud. It was such a shame that in two minutes… it’s individual mistakes, but that is why we play these games. France is one of the candidates to become world champions. We will see what they can do but you could see the difference in quality.
"It’s a very, very good exercise. What we need to learn is when we are under this pressure, and even with this wind, it doesn’t make sense to then fool around in your own penalty box. We need to get that ball away.
"That is something you learn from playing at this level."
