Republic of Ireland striker Emily Murphy admitted the valiant defeat to France "stings" but insists there is plenty to build on for their 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Carla Ward's side were massive underdogs at Tallaght Stadium against a French side ranked seventh in the world.
However Katie McCabe’s 12th-minute goal gave the hosts a deserved interval lead and, as the visitors grew more frustrated, it seemed like the Girls in Green could hold on for a famous win.
After mounting French pressure, substitute Malvine Malard struck twice in less than 10 minutes to turn the game on its head, yet deep into stoppage time, Denise O’Sullivan’s rasping shot was headed off the line.
Emily Murphy, who led the line with Kyra Carusa, was named Ireland’s player of the match and couldn’t hide her disappointment afterwards.
"It stings," she said. "We went toe-to-toe with one of the best in the world, so it hurts not to take any points.
"We deserved more. They (France) got away with one. If anything it shows that we are capable as we build into Utrecht with Netherlands."
'We've got to build on the positives from that'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 3, 2026
Player of the match Emily Murphy reflects on what might have been for Ireland
📺Watch live on @rte2 and @RTEplayer - https://t.co/nKLXOjzjmg
📱Match updates - https://t.co/KBQ9mqNHzJ
📻Commentary on @RTERadio1 pic.twitter.com/1G65Bv8UWS
Murphy spurned a great chance to open the scoring in the first half, but didn’t dwell on the miss. In the very next attack she created the opening from which captain McCabe had the home fans on their feet.
"If I was to be upset about every chance I miss then I wouldn’t be a very good nine," she said. "Katie’s quality speaks for itself. I knew if I could draw the defender in and I set the ball off to her, she would do the rest. And she did."
There is little time to lick the wounds as the squad departs for Saturday’s encounter against a Netherlands side that opened their account with a 2-2 draw away to Poland.
"The focus shifts, it has to," Murphy said. "We’ve put in an unbelievable performance against a top side and we have to build on the positives from that."
Defender Aoife Mannion admitted that while her side were on the backfoot for large portions of the game, they looked comfortable in keep the French at bay until the equaliser.
"It really feels like on a different day, we could have taken them all the way," she told RTÉ Sport.
"To go one-up and hold them so long into the game, I think we deserved so much more. I'm gutted for the girls.
"For large parts of the game it felt like we were in control, even though we didn’t necessarily always have the ball. When we wont h ball and went up, we looked really dangerous."
