Vera Pauw has described Tuesday's Group A finale against Slovakia as “another final” - as a win would see Ireland bypass the first of two rounds in the UEFA play-off system.
Three points against the hosts in Senec would leave the Girls in Green potentially just one game away from World Cup qualification.
Any other result and it could be up to six play-off matches, including an intercontinental competition in New Zealand next February.
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But thanks to a series of results that followed Ireland’s win over Finland last Thursday, the Girls in Green are closer than ever to a first ever major tournament.
They needed Portugal and Norway to win away to Serbia and Belgium respectively on Friday, and European Champions England to triumph in Austria on Saturday.
That’s exactly what happened in those three crucial games - and Pauw said: “Something we dreamt of has become reality.
“Belgium, Serbia and Austria all lost their games.
“We’re in a situation where if we win in Slovakia, we’re one of the three best second-placed teams. That means we’ll skip the first round of the playoffs.”
However, she warned: “It will be extremely difficult because Slovakia are a good team.
“They have drawn against Finland – that was the major result – but there were other results that were very close too.
“We all remember that we couldn’t get the win either and were actually happy with the draw.”
Pauw declared: “We’re playing another final. We have no idea how Slovakia will line up, if they will go with their strongest team or bring in young players.
“We will prepare the same way as we always do. We expect they’ll go full-strength because they’re playing at home and want to show they’re on a good path upwards.
“We will have our strongest team as you will probably expect.”
She is missing some key players, however, Jamie Finn (suspended), Ruesha Littlejohn (foot) and Megan Connolly (ribs) all started against Finland but didn’t travel to Bratislava.
Nor did Niamh Fahey, whose groin injury kept the Liverpool captain from this set of fixtures.
“Four players is a lot so we have to see if that is feasible. But we have a fantastic bunch but we are ready for it and we will see if it is enough as we always do,” said Pauw.
While the combination of results across last Thursday, Friday and Saturday has potentially simplified Ireland’s path to the World Cup, don’t put your calculators away just yet.
Because while the Girls in Green might get a bye to the UEFA play-off final round, one of the three winners at that stage will still have to head to New Zealand next February.
The ranking of those three sides will be decided by results across the qualification campaign and play-offs - with the two boasting the best records sealing a spot in the finals.
Pauw insisted: “First we must beat Slovakia and, as we always do, it is the next game only that counts.”
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