Proud Pauw as Ireland bow out of World Cup on positive note

Vera Pauw hailed her side's performance as Ireland bowed out of the Women’s World Cup with a hard-fought scoreless draw against Nigeria.

Ireland came into the game off the back of two defeats in their opening group games, and while they were already eliminated from the tournament, they showed great heart to compete with Nigeria throughout to ensure that they had something to show for their endeavours at their maiden World Cup.

Pauw’s side end their Group B campaign with one point from three games, having only managed to score one goal throughout, from Katie McCabe’s early corner against Canada in that 2-1 defeat.

"It’s a fantastic feeling," said Pauw, speaking to RTE Sport after the game, when asked how she was feeling after securing a first World Cup point.

"Eleven times African champions, and I think we really had the better play," added the Ireland manager.

"They always looked dangerous, but we were in control and we’ve created chances. We need to get there to score and we have done that so much better than in the earlier games.

"If you see what they have done against Australia, and how they have put Australia under pressure and how they use their pace, not one time they could do that to us.

"So gameplan worked again and I’m so proud."

Vera Pauw was delighted by how Ireland's game plan was executed against Nigeria. #wwc2023 #coygig