Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward wants to harness the recent surge in positivity around Irish football as she looks towards what could be a seismic 2026.
Troy Parrott's remarkable hat-trick in Budapest on Sunday added a bolt of electricity to a battery of excellent results over the last month.
It began with the Girls in Green getting past Belgium in the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off, bubbled along nicely as the Ireland Under-17s made progress at the World Cup in Qatar, and then exploded thanks to a Parrott-inspired pair of wins against Portugal and Hungary.
There's now a chance that both the men's and women's teams could qualify for senior World Cups within the next eight months.
"I would say they probably felt that after we beat Belgium, if I'm honest," Ward said when asked if the men's achievements whetted her appetite to lift the nation.
"Me and Heimir (Hallgrimsson) had that conversation yesterday. I think positivity breeds positivity. I always say, and I've said from quite a young age, if I walk into the room and smile at you, you're going to smile back, right?
"I think when you're breeding positivity, results are going your way and you want to be part of that. It's not just the men; the women, the Under-17s. I mean, (their last-32 win against Canada) was unbelievable the other day.
"There's an air around that everybody wants to play their part. But we'll all say the same thing, it's a really good moment. And to continue these moments, we've got to work extremely hard to continue that."
Ward has brought Tara O'Hanlon and Kelly Brady into the fold for a behind-closed-doors friendly against Hungary in Marbella at the end of this month. Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and Leanne Kiernan also return after being injured for the Belgian showdowns, with Ward keen to finetune a few things ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, which begin in March against France and the Netherlands.
Bohemians' Aoibhe Brennan and Treaty United's Madison McGuane were both name-checked by Ward as two LOI-based players knocking on the door for inclusion.
O'Hanlon, meanwhile, "nearly cried" when told she was being called up.
The 20-year-old, who's endured horrendous injury luck, has not pulled on a green jersey since April 2023 when she featured in two friendlies against the USA.
Currently on loan at Sunderland from Manchester City, the ex-Peamount United player is seeking to regain some of the momentum that made her such a hyped-up prospect.
"I've watched Tara a lot in the last few weeks and I really like what I see," said Ward. "I've spoken to Katie (McCabe) a lot this week around, you know, almost that mentoring role. Tara coming in and learning from Katie and the group... she's someone I see with massive potential for the future.
"She nearly cried yesterday when I called her, bless her. She's somebody, like I say, that needs a bit of work, but ultimately has a mindset and attitude and the potential that we can look for, for the future."
Brady, listed as a free agent in the FAI's squad announcement, gets her chance to shine having trained with the squad before the Belgian clashes.
The 23-year-old won the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division Player of the Year Award last Friday following an outstanding season with double winners Athlone Town.
"I really like Kelly," Ward added. "I think she's got an athleticism and a way of playing that suits what we want to do. She's very humble, wants to learn. She was on the phone within probably 12 hours of leaving the building: 'Can we have a call? Can we discuss what I need to improve on, what your thoughts are?'. I love that in a player.
"She's somebody that I think that will be really good to look at properly because the two days (Brady and Shamrock Rovers' Maria Reynolds) came in as training players, it was slightly different because ultimately they were opposition-type players. This is a very different camp in terms of principle-based and having a look at what she can do with what we want to do with the ball and without it."
Ward confirmed the FAI have decided where the World Cup qualifiers will be played. The association has yet to announce the venues for games against France, Poland and the Dutch, with a return to Páirc Uí Chaoimh anticipated for one of those fixtures.
"They've been announced, right? No, they haven't been announced? Good job. I might have just given you that!" Ward laughed.
"Yes, they have (been decided) and we're pretty much there. Look, we've got good stadiums to choose from. I'm happy with the choices that are being discussed, so hopefully you'll get an idea of that quite soon."
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