If Ireland are going to take that next step and compete with the best sides in the world, they must eradicate their costly habit of conceding soft goals, reckons experienced midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn.
Republic of Ireland went down 2-1 to World Cup finalists England at Carrow Road after a typically gutsy performance. That's now five losses from five Group 3 games for the Girls in Green as they bid to make next year's European Championships in Switzerland.
Eileen Gleeson's side survived an early English onslaught with their heads just above water and battled every step of the way - but a fifth-minute Alessia Russo strike gave them a mountain to climb.
To make matters worse, having worked their way back into the game, Ireland shot themselves in the foot with a calamitous penalty concession in the second half that ultimately handed England all three points.
"Disappointing to concede so early. It goes back to us taking about 20-25 [minutes] before we figure out what's going on," a frustrated Littlejohn told RTÉ Sport after the game.
"It's something we need to keep working on, but I thought we came back into the game with a bit of calmness, a bit of composure and some good football.
"It’d be nice if we could stop conceding cheap goals."
As the team continues to find their identity in the post-Vera Pauw era, the ambition to play a more enterprising brand of football has at times conflicted with the need to be defensively frugal against the best teams in the world; England certainly fit that bill.
"That’s us. Sometimes we go backwards a lot when we don’t need to," Littlejohn added. "We need to be braver in stepping forward and demanding the ball. We need to have more options for players on the ball, sometimes we’re a bit delayed.
"We need to be better at making angles, making triangles for each other. We go again. It’s just one of those things."
Ireland move to Páirc Uí Chaoimh to take on France on Tuesday in their final group game. Littlejohn acknowledged that, at this level, any chink in our armour is likely to be exposed.
"England are a quality side," she said. "When you don’t quite get it right, they’ll just pop you. Not everyone likes being pressed and we nicked it a few times but we have to get the balance, the belief and the timing and just understanding our roles.
"Early in the game, I could have been a bit further forward to help out the forwards but at the same time you’re always that little bit cautious that you might be leaving yourselves open at the back.
"It’s about believing in the system and getting it right."
'We need to get better at not conceding cheap goals'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 12, 2024
Ruesha Littlejohn says England taught Ireland some harsh lessons in tonight's 2-1 defeat in Norwich #RTESport pic.twitter.com/leMxyzxpBg
