All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
But Louise Quinn often felt like more than that to the Republic of Ireland: she was the grout, the grit and adhesive that held that wall together as historic highs were scaled.
Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey and Julie-Ann Russell all walked away from the international stage over the winter. Quinn's decision to follow suit is a real blow, deepening the sense that Carla Ward is leading this side through a period of significant transition.
The 34-year-old hasn't played since last October when a hip injury ruled her out of the Euro 2025 play-off semi-finals against Georgia. Quinn was hopeful she’d get back for the final showdown with Wales but never recovered.
She was missed, particularly in the second leg when the Girls in Green desperately chased a second goal that would have sent the tie to extra-time. Quinn scored 16 times for Ireland (she's fourth in the all-time goalscorer list), with 15 of them coming from her head. Oh how Eileen Gleeson would have loved to have pushed her forward in the closing minutes when Megan Campbell was launching missiles towards exhausted Welsh defenders cramping up with fatigue.
Ireland are well stocked in the back line. Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten, Aoife Mannion, Campbell and Jessie Stapleton have shown they are capable centre-halves for the present and the future.
But Quinn was a leader in the truest sense of the word with strong organisational capabilities and a high footballing IQ.
Ward has hinted at using the retired quartet behind the scenes as she tries to fill a large leadership void.
"There's four massive leaders that can really help guide people off the pitch as well as on the pitch," the head coach said in March.
"For example I spoke to one of them about potentially coming in and being a player liaison, a link between players and staff but being a sounding board for the players, particularly the senior players. That can be really powerful - really powerful."
How that dynamic would work remains to be seen. Right now, Ward has her work cut out to get the balance right on the pitch, while her backroom team is also in a state of flux. Popular performance coach Ivi Casagrande left last month to pursue other opportunities (Holly Pickett has replaced her). Meanwhile assistant coach Amber Whitely is still in the frame to get the Liverpool job permanently having done well on an interim basis since late February.
The target is obviously to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, which heightens the importance of finding younger players to energise what is an ageing squad.
Doing that is not easy. There's promising talent in the Ireland's underage teams and Ward has regularly expressed how impressed she's been with the standard of the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division, but the jump up to senior international football is a big one.
With no Under-21s or Under-23s team to bridge the gap, Ward is juggling her priorities as she tries to get results now to lift morale; implement a new style of play; and finetune a squad that can peak inside the next two years.
Promotion from League B of the Nations League is out of Ireland's hands as they head for the final two games of their campaign against Turkey (30 May) and Slovenia (3 June). After that they have a couple of friendlies against the USA in Colorado and Cincinnati, and possibly a two-legged Nations League promotion/relegation play-off in October if they finish second in their group.
The World Cup qualifiers don't start until the spring of 2026.
It's a strange year without any serious jeopardy, and amid this stew of change Ireland must say farewell to another one of their most respected figures.
In a piece for The Sports Chronicle in 2018, Quinn wrote: "A standard has been set. We always fought for the cause but now we are driven by a desire to ensure our performances never drop below the new expectations.
"We are not reinventing the wheel we just want the wheel to build up some momentum."
Mission accomplished. She scooped up bundles of trophies in spells with Peamount United, Eskilstuna United, Notts County, Arsenal, Fiorentina and Birmingham City, as well as leaving such a lasting impression on the international stage.
But the wheel keeps on turning for Louise Quinn and the Ireland team-mates she leaves behind.
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