‘Yes we can’ - Carla Ward makes bold France declaration after win against Netherlands

Carla Ward has declared that Ireland can beat France on Tuesday and secure automatic World Cup qualification. The Girls in Green pulled off a dramatic last-gasp win against the Netherlands in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last night to secure the first of two wins needed to qualify for next year’s finals in Brazil without the need for a play-off. Amber Barrett scored in the 90th minute to earn a sensational victory against the team ranked 10th in the world - arguably the biggest win in the history of Irish women’s football. They will have to go again on Tuesday against France, ranked three spots higher than the Dutch.

Asked if they can produce another win, she said: “Yes. I told you that back at the Aviva, I said we can. “And let me tell you now, I tell them every day they can, they can play against anyone, they can compete against anyone. “This group has, as I said, a resilience, a character, but most importantly, a togetherness. We have a culture built on a family unit. “It might sound cliche, but it is. I tell them all the time, you know, we look after each other. “And I said to him in the huddle before we went out, your team-mate misses a tackle, the next one takes one for the team. “You back each other up and you look after each other.

And they do that. They are an absolute joy to work with, this group.” She added: “They are so proud of this jersey and this is the reason I took the job. Whatever happens on Tuesday I will be so unbelievably proud of this group.” Ireland finished the game with 10 players after substitute Leanne Kiernan was shown a red card for a high boot. Ward had emptied the attacking options off her bench, bringing on Kiernan, Saoirse Noonan and match-winner Barrett.

Kyra Carusa and Abbie Larkin scored Ireland’s first two goals and each time the Dutch struck back they pushed on to retake the lead. Ward hailed her side’s “resilience and character.” She said: “We wanted to win, we didn’t want to settle for a point. When we got to 60 minutes we would flip it and go aggressive, and we managed to get there and get the three points. “Everyone played their part, we knew Ruesha (Littlejohn) and Jess (Ziu) would only have 45 minutes and we had fresh legs late on and every single forward on the pitch at the end. “We flipped to being really aggressive.” She added: “We have one big, big one to go now. We have to get ready for Tuesday. “I don’t need to manage their emotions.

We will get back to work right away, refuel and review this game. We want to do what nobody gave us a chance of doing. “I’m big on belief, I want everyone to feel they can be the very best we can. I tell them we can beat anyone in the world with that mind-set.” Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond .