(Reuters) – Ireland manager Vera Pauw said her team had prepared for every possible scenario ahead of their 1-0 win over Scotland in Glasgow on Tuesday to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Ireland keeper Courtney Brosnan kept out Caroline Weir’s early penalty while substitute forward Amber Barrett scored the winner in the 72nd minute.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. How is this possible?” Pauw told RTE.
“Amber’s first touch made the game. Preparation is everything. The saved penalty by Courtney was not luck. We knew where it was going. We trained for everything and we were ready for every scenario.”
Scotland manager Pedro Martinez Losa apologised to the fans for not leading his team to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
“We missed little details. We didn’t score the penalty, and after that, I’m not sure how many opportunities the opposition had to score,” he told the BBC.
“The hard work of the players has been amazing – I couldn’t ask for any more. We’ll stick together, come back together, and hopefully we have another opportunity soon.”
(Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
