Katie McCabe gathered her Republic of Ireland teammates into a huddle after their 4-2 win against Belgium on Friday night and warned them to stay "humble" if they want to finish the job in Leuven, near Brussels.
It's advantage Ireland in this Nations League promotion/relegation play-off, but the skipper was irritated by the concession of two goals that tainted a fine showing on Friday night.
McCabe's brace, an OG and a Marissa Sheva screamer had Ireland 4-1 up before Marie Detruyer got one back for the visitors with eight minutes to go. And that leaves the tie nicely poised ahead of Tuesday's rematch at Den Dreef Stadium, with McCabe fully aware the job is only half done.
"To be honest, I'm disappointed we conceded two sloppy goals in my opinion," said the captain, who's set to win her 100th cap in Belgium.
"Obviously a great result and a great win but still a lot to do come Tuesday.
"I spoke to the girls. It's a fantastic result but we have to be humble. We still have to go to Belgium and they are a fantastic team with a load of quality. And it is going to be a difficult game for us on Tuesday night.
"They will be disappointed, they will go away tonight and think they could have got more from the game. So we need to be ready and on it."
'Growing up, I used to come and watch the men's teams... it's a real honour to play here' - Katie McCabe picks up the Player of the Match award after Ireland's 4-2 win over Belgium
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 24, 2025
📺 Live coverage on @rte2 and @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/gRvkulawBe
McCabe was brilliant at left wing-back, liberated to attack by the presence of Chloe Mustaki behind her. She now has 31 international goals to her name, and is about to become a member of the centurion club alongside Denise O'Sullivan, Ciara Grant, Emma Byrne, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell and Aine O'Gorman.
The Dubliner is desperate for more good days in green, once again referencing last December's painful Euros play-off defeat to Wales at Lansdowne Road.
"I spoke about it (on Thursday), the transition part at the start of the year, the disappointment last year with the Wales game. Changing manager, changing staff, changing coaches.
"With that there will be bumps in the road and we have seen that in the Nations League, it wasn't the prettiest performances. But we did our best, finished as strongly as possible. This camp was collecting all of that, making sure we are aligned and clear in what we are trying to do, and turning the disappointment of last year at the Aviva into a positive today and I’m really proud of how we did that.
"Hopefully this is the start of something really positive for us, It’s just a stepping stone and all still to play for on Tuesday."
McCabe has achieved so much that it's understandable she loses track of some things. The Arsenal star had to be reminded that Friday's brace was not the first time she's found the net at the Aviva - she did so playing for Raheny United in the 2014 FAI Cup final.
Republic of Ireland 3-1 Belgium
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 24, 2025
Katie McCabe drills home Ireland's third, unquestionably the best of the night after great passing from O'Sullivan and Murphy
📺 Live coverage on @rte2 and @RTEplayer
📱Updates https://t.co/BTJ0s9rh7W pic.twitter.com/49G0JHdpC2
"Look, as a kid I grew up watching Robbie Keane scoring hat-tricks and Damien Duff running down the wing when it was Lansdowne Road," she said of her star turn at the venue.
"To do it here was really special. It gives the fans something back in the cold. It was nice to have the family in the stands but the most important thing was winning the game.
"It's tough, we haven't seen each other since - well, the majority of the team haven't seen each other since the USA camp. I haven't seen them since May, and you've got three to four days to kind of zone back in, get on the same page and put in a performance. That's a really difficult thing to do."
On that 100th cap, McCabe was reflective.
"It's incredible," she added. "It's something I don't really think about. For me, I just want to be as consistent as possible and be available for the team as much as I can.
"I know I spoke about being disappointed at not being in the USA camp, but I needed that couple of weeks to kind of reset, to make sure I'm ready for these types of games.
"I've been around the team for nearly 10 years now. It makes me feel old, but I feel good, I feel fit, and I still feel like I've got a lot more to give, and I still want to achieve so much with this team. I really believe that we can."
