IRELAND'S VERA Pauw has said she is "the proudest one in the room after Ireland held Sweden to a 1-1 draw in Gothenburg on Tuesday evening.Â
Katie McCabe opened the scoring for Ireland at the end of the first half and helped Ireland repel the Swedes, who are the second best team in the world.
Ireland were 11 minutes away from a famous victory until Sweden's Kosovare Aslanni scored an equalizer.
Sweden had all the ball for the majority of the second half and Ireland managed to hang on to record a famous point away from home.
Pauw said that Ireland's concentration was unbelievable despite ending the game with 22% of the ball.
"We absolutely know where we stand. We are very realistic and we know that this is what we can do, she said.
The way it has been executed, the concentration and determination and discipline is absolutely phenomenal. A few Swedish players would help us go forward, but these tigers have really made us proud."
Sweden 0-1 Ireland - Katie McCabe gives the visitors a shock lead against the World No. 2 side. Vera Pauw's side hit the front just before the break #rtesoccer #SWEIRL — RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) April 12, 2022
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📱https://t.co/wH5tqlaBqQ pic.twitter.com/f0LRQqlb1L
Few expected Ireland to take anything off a really excellent Sweden side who had won all six of their previous group games prior to this.
Sweden have now made it to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year, while Ireland's chances of getting there are still intact.
Ireland have to play Georgia in June and will be confident of a result there, having beat them 11-0 last November.Â
This will be followed by games at home to Finland and a game away to Slovakia in September.
Pauw knows that yesterday's result will give Ireland a great chance of making their first major tournament ever.
She also mentioned she was the proudest person in the room after the draw.
"The proudest one in the room, I think, at this moment. I've said before and I have joked a bit about the tigers, but they are.... you've seen tonight again, nobody wins easy from us and that starts with the absolute passion of these players, to be able to give up everything for their country.
"That's contagious, and it's contagious to the nation I hope, contagious to the staff and I hope that we can add what they need so that they can go further and further and further. Because this team deserves it. If there's one team in the world that deserves the next step, then it's this team."
