Eileen Gleeson confident Ireland will learn from French defeat

Giovanni Trapattoni was a stickler for "the little details" during his time as Republic of Ireland boss, but it's the little details that can make or break your chances of pulling off an upset.

That was the case in Metz on Friday night when Eileen Gleeson's Girls in Green were beaten thanks to a sixth-minute Marie Antoinette Katoto goal that happened because the visiting defence switched off at a setpiece.

Late in the second half, in a rare foray forward, Leanne Kiernan went for goal when she could have squared it for Katie McCabe, free in the France penalty box.

Little details, big moments, but Gleeson was upbeat as she tries to re-energise her squad for Tuesday night's meeting with England.

"These are the decisions," Gleeson sighed when reminded of the Kiernan attack.

"Potentially, yeah she plays Katie in there and we're 1-1. We’ll be reviewing that, but in these moments, we can be shouting as much as we want from the sidelines. She doesn’t pick it out and we don’t come away (with a draw).

"(The goal) was back post and second ball, these are the areas we talk about. It didn't get organised quickly enough. The second ball didn't get picked up.

"We conceded early which is annoying and disappointing for us and the girls. But we still had to go another 90 minutes and we felt the girls put in a great shift and came away with a loss. But we’re not overly displeased with the performance."

The French had 21 attempts on goal to Ireland's one, which actually came via the top of a home defender's head after a long Megan Campbell throw-in.

The world No 3-ranked team are a lavishly talented outfit - physical, fast and laced with class.

There's no shame in losing to a team as good as France, but Ireland will need to find a way to take the