Eileen Gleeson looking at positives as attention turns to England game at the Aviva Stadium 

Republic of Ireland WNT manager Eileen Gleeson is taking positives from the team’s 1-0 defeat to France in Euro 2025 qualifying at the Stade Saint Symphorien on Friday night as she looks ahead to Tuesday’s meeting with England at the Aviva Stadium.

The game was decided by an early Marie Antoinette Katoto goal which came during a prolonged spell of Les Bleues possession, and many felt that this was going to be the start of a statement like performance from the home side.

Instead, Ireland remained disciplined and stuck to their rigid 5-4-1 formation that had Denise O’Sullivan and Megan Connolly working in tandem to close down space and cut off any clear route to goal, and this stopped France from adding to their lead.

"A good performance to work off," Gleeson told RTÉ.

"We knew they’d have more of the ball than us, we spoke about it all week. 

"We got the midfield closer to them in the second half and we edged ten yards in our starting line-up. 

"At the end of it, Megan’s [Campbell] throws gave us a better transition from deep, a better way to get into that half and put them under pressure.

"We saw them adapting and bringing on their big headers. The players we brought on made an impact."

Those throws from Megan Campbell, helped to open up a France team that rarely gave something away in the final third.

Gleeson tried everything in a bid to get Ireland back into the game, and only a handful of chances were created.

The first one fell to Caitlin Hayes – a player who announced herself to the masses last September by scoring a header against Northern Ireland – and she put the ball straight into the hands of the France goalkeeper.

The only other moment of promise by Ireland in attack involved neat interplay that played Leanne Kiernan into space, and she went for goal instead of squaring to Katie McCabe.

"These are the decisions," Gleeson looked back at that passage of play.

"Potentially, yeah she plays Katie in there and we're 1-1. We’ll be reviewing that, but in these moments, we can be shouting as much as we want from the sidelines. 

"She doesn’t pick it out and we don’t come away (with a draw).

"(The goal) was back post and second ball, these are the areas we talk about. It didn't get organised quickly enough. 

"The second ball didn't get picked up.

"We conceded early which is annoying and disappointing for us and the girls. 

"But we still had to go another 90 minutes and we felt the girls put in a great shift and came away with a loss. 

"But we’re not overly displeased with the performance."

As for Courtney Brosnan, who produced a string of excellent saves to keep France at bay, it was a good night despite conceding an early goal from a set-piece. 

The shot-stopper repeatedly kept her side in the game, even with seconds left on the clock and the win assured for Les Bleues, and now she is looking ahead to Tuesday.

"France are one of the best teams in the world but we pushed at the end and had some chances,” she looked back.

“To concede so early is frustrating but we responded well. We need to bring the same energy against another tough side in England.

"It's always disappointing to concede but how you respond is just as important. 

"It’s great that we were able to keep it at 1-0 to push at the end. We could have got something from the game but these things sometimes happen in football."