Emotional Vera Pauw heaps praise on Amber Barrett and Courtney Brosnan

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw was overcome by emotion as her charges secured World Cup qualification for the first time, but two of her 'tigers' came in for particular acclaim, with the Dutch woman effusive in her assessment of the roles played by goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and goalscorer Amber Barrett.

Brosnan dived to her left to save a spot-kick from Caroline Weir in the 12th minute, with Barrett securing her status as a legendary Ireland super-sub by grabbing the only goal of the game at Hampden 18 minutes from time.

"I can't believe it, I just can't believe, a teary Pauw told RTÉ Sport.

"Amber's first touch made the game. Preparation is everything. The saved penalty of Courtney's was not luck. We knew where it was coming.

"We trained for it, we trained for everything, we were ready for every scenario, we were so ready. The way they executed it was not beautiful and we need to work a lot, but the gameplan was successful."

'I can't believe it' Vera Pauw speaks to @Corktod after guiding Ireland to the World Cup for the first time