Ireland face Norway in tonight's Women's World Cup Qualification group stage clash, and Diane Caldwell believes the visitors will be in for a tough tie.
Ireland currently sit in second place in the group, one point ahead of Norway but with a game more played. With just three game remaining to secure their place the Irish team are heading into one of the biggest matches of their recent history, but Caldwell said the group are confident and looking forward to the occasion.
"We've had some nice drays training in the beautiful weather here now in Dublin., and we've done some really good video analysis of the Norwegians. We've prepared well, so now it's just down to tomorrow and using the game plan on the pitch and get a result".
"I think it's going to be a very physical game. We're obviously going to have to defend well, be very organised and disciplined, the same as we were against the Netherlands, but obviously we've been working now to improve our game offensively. That's what we've been working on all week, to try to work on our transitions and be more clinical in front of goal, so that's the next step for us now".
Having played in Norway for four years, Caldwell feels an advantage over tonight's opponents as she'll be lining up against many players she either lined up against or beside. Despite this, Caldwell feels that the Norweigans will also know what to expect from the Irish, and she believes they know they'll be in for fight if they want to beat the Ireland on their home soil.
"I played four years in Norway, so I'm playing against a few of my ex teammates and a number of players I used to play against. So I'm well aware of their strengths, but also know their weaknesses too so hopefully that'll help us".
"I think they know, especially having played against me, they know what type of player I am and how that'll be in the Irish team as well. We're an aggressive team, hard to breakdown, so maybe they're aware of the strength that we possess as a team, but intimately that'll it'll be a hard game for them".
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