IT feels like the women’s World Cup is only beginning to crank up – and yet Ireland could be out of the tournament should they fail to take something from Wednesday's second Group B game against Olympic champions Canada.
Unlike the men’s World Cup, there are no second-round berths reserved for teams that finish third in their group.
Only first and second-placed teams advance.
As soon as the World Cup draw was made, the odds were stacked against first-timers Ireland finishing above Australia, Canada or Nigeria.
But, now that they are here, their task doesn't seem as daunting.
That's due to the fact the Irish can take a lot of confidence from how they acquitted themselves against co-host nation Australia last Thursday and Canada failing to set pulses racing in their scoreless opener with Nigeria.
A scruffy penalty award that was expertly despatched by Steph Catley in the 52nd minute was the difference between the Aussies and the Irish girls.
It was only when Ireland fell behind that they threw the shackles off and attacked their nervy hosts.
The catalyst, by general consensus, was Vera Pauw’s introduction of Abbie Larkin and Lucy Quinn in the 63rd minute.
Since that agonising defeat, Irish supporters have beseeched Pauw to start Larkin who ran fearlessly at the Aussies in the closing stages, while many were miffed at goal-getter Amber Barrett not seeing any action in the Sydney opener.
But, of course, a lot went right against Australia from an Irish perspective. They looked assured at the back with goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan having very little to do in the way of saves to make.
Ruesha Littlejohn and Denise O’Sullivan – Ireland’s midfield protectors – more than broke even too.
Marissa Sheva, who conceded the costly penalty, was hammered in the media afterwards.
The American-born midfielder found herself in the last line of the Irish defence once too often due to Katie McCabe’s willingness to play higher up the pitch in a bid to impact the game from an offensive point of view.
But it was McCabe’s defensive indiscipline that contributed to the scenario that led to Australia’s winning goal and Sheva was the one hung out to dry.
Whether there is any future in the McCabe-Sheva axis down Ireland’s left flank depends as much on McCabe as it does Sheva.
Otherwise, McCabe should simply be stationed higher up the pitch with someone behind her, possibly Izzy Atkinson, for the make-or-break Canada game tomorrow.
From a distance out, Pauw had decided upon her starting line-up for the Australia game – but things can change so rapidly in tournament football. You’re no longer investing in players, working on patterns of play or experimentation.
Everything is about the here and now.
Clearly, Ireland’s attack needs the most attention. Lone striker Kyra Carusa was exactly that against the Aussies, with the rest of the team disconnected from her.
Is there more in Sinead Farrelly? And where does Barrett fit into the pre-match discussion in plotting Canada's downfall?
Training sessions between games become even more important too.
Does Pauw capitalise on the feel-good factor surrounding Larkin and the confidence the teenager gained from her impressive cameo role in Sydney by starting her in Perth?
Or does she hold the pride of Ringsend in reserve again and hope she can make a similar impact from the bench should Ireland find themselves chasing the game on Wednesday?
It’s easy for players when talking to the media that Ireland should play on the front foot more.
But their hosts had something to protect after the 52nd minute and invited Irish pressure. The last third of the game was perfectly set up for Ireland to have a go.
The Aussies are also a very different proposition than Canada. They played a lot of straight balls, which suited Ireland’s defence and Littlejohn and O’Sullivan were rarely pulled out of position.
Canada, by contrast, play a much shorter game than Australia.
Julia Grosso, fit-again Jessie Fleming and Quinn are good ball players and Ashley Lawrence offers trickery in wide areas.
It’ll be harder for Ireland to stay as compact as they did in their opener. But for all of Canada’s nice passing moves, they fired blanks all afternoon against a resolute Nigeria.
Perhaps we'll see a better version of the Olympic champions on Wednesday. And perhaps there's more quality than we initially thought in Irish ranks.
After just one World Cup game, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
It’s over to Vera to find the right blend in the hope of extending Ireland’s World Cup odyssey beyond Wednesday afternoon.
