Amber Barrett insists harsh lessons will make Ireland stronger

The 84 minutes Amber Barrett spent on the Aviva Stadium pitch against Sweden was the longest shift she's ever enjoyed in a Republic of Ireland shirt.

Barrett has spent a large chunk of her international career coming off the bench, trying to make an impact as a strong, selfless attacker. She most famously did that in the World Cup play-off against Scotland back in 2022, poking home the goal that sent the Girls in Green to their first ever major tournament.

Against the Swedes, Barrett could – in truth should – have drawn Ireland level when jess Ziu dropped a 32nd-minute cross onto her head. But the effort sailed over the bar from six yards out, and the visitors compounded that miss by scoring twice more in the second half.

Painful lessons that weren’t shirked by anyone in green afterwards, as Ireland now focus on the return Euro 2025 qualifier against the world No 6-ranked Swedes in Stockholm on Tuesday night.

"The chances we had in the first half, we need to be taking them," said Barrett.

"I know myself, the chances I missed, you don’t get five, six, seven, eight chances against top teams, you might only get two or three and we need to do better.

"I have to improve on being able to deal with defenders with my backside, being able to hold them off, but again that comes with time and experience.

"They didn’t have that many chances through the game but the ones they had they put away. It’s something we need to learn on, something we all need to get better at.

"From a striker’s point of view, it would be more worrying if the team wasn’t creating chances. We’re creating chances and just not putting the finishing touches on them. Every game we’ve had a few chances to score."

Republic of Ireland forward Amber Barrett on the missed