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'Germany are beatable' | Amber Barrett on Ireland's shot at redemption

Republic of Ireland forward Amber Barrett believes that Germany are 'beatable' in the final match...



Republic of Ireland forward Amber Barrett believes that Germany are 'beatable' in the final match of the qualifications for the UEFA Women's Championships.

Barrett joined The Football Show to discuss the side's prospects after a loss to Ukraine that she felt was a star-crossed fixture from early on in the match.

"After the goal went in, and Katie missing the penalty, a little bit of doubt crept into my head," Barrett said of her sides chances mid-match on Friday.

"I was still very confident in the girls playing and that with the players that we have we can always get something out of it. In the second half, there were a couple of balls that just didn't drop for us in the right way; Rianna's effort just trickled towards the line, where in another game it would just roll into the back of the net.

"It was very difficult for the girls, you could see the effort in everyone running themselves into the ground. I am absolutely convinced that if we played Ukraine another nine times that we would beat them every time.

"Unfortunately for us, they scored the goal - or, we scored the goal - which made it a little bit worse as well."

Ireland-Germany

Despite the disappointment, Barrett believes that Ireland have a chance against Germany, one of the favourites for the overall competition.

"I think that the next four weeks is really important for everybody; that we have good games and training with our clubs - that they are ready to go into the game in four weeks against Germany.

"We have to throw the kitchen sink at them because we have nothing to lose. For me, that will certainly be the case with Koln - I have been in good form and want to carry that on."

Amber Barrett on Germany and life there

Playing in Germany has given her a familiarity with the style of play and personnel that Ireland will face next.

"They are [awesome] but they are beatable," Barrett said, before explaining from the lessons of their previous 3-0 defeat to the Germans.

"I think one thing that we felt aggrieved about at half-time was the amount of space they had in central midfield. They are absolutely fantastic players but at times we were giving them too much space. They are fantastic players in 2-3 metres of space, let alone 10-15 metres.

"In the second half, we stepped a little bit higher and got a little bit closer to them. I think they had one or two big chances in the second half but we completely shut out their threats."

Outside of football, Barrett told us that she is enjoying life in the stunning German city of Koln.

"It is an absolutely beautiful city, the people are fantastic here and I am playing with a fantastic club.

"They are so dedicated to the football; once you put the FC Koln hoodie or jacket, they pay attention to you and look at you.

"For me, the whole thing with the GAA and community; this is my community now and I am extremely proud to represent them."

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Amber Barrett