Former Republic of Ireland international Rachel Graham believes it will be a tough ask for the Girls in Green to pull off an upset in France tonight but believes Carla Ward's side have proven they are capable of making their own luck.
Last Friday's World Cup qualifying win over big hitters Netherlands at Páirc Uí Chaoimh is arguably the greatest result in the history of the women's national team to date given the context.
Another famous win in Grenoble would propel Ireland directly to next year's tournament without the need for a play-off.
France will be favourites at the Stade des Alpes while the Irish side at least know that the guarantee of a top three finish in the qualifying group offers a less arduous path through the play-offs.
But the victory over the Netherlands will have given the squad huge confidence that they can pull off another iconic result against the odds.
"It's probably the biggest win we've ever had," Shelbourne veteran Graham said of the Dutch game on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
"The fact that we deserved it - it wasn't a lucky win or we got a lucky set-piece or anything like that - we scored three goals against one of the best teams in Europe and came out of there fully deserving a win.
"So I think it just shows how far we've come and going into the game (tonight), you can back them going into it. You think, 'we can do this'.
"Obviously it would take a lot but it's not a case that we're going 'we've no chance of winning this game'.
The positive substitutions against the Dutch as Ireland bounced back, not once but twice, from equalisers to win was a notable aspect of the win on Friday.
Graham credited head coach Ward for instilling that sense of belief that will now be even more necessary in Grenoble where there won't be home advantage and all that entails, nor a huge contingent of fans travelling over.
"Sometimes you can be a bit mad and think we can go and beat the French but you have to feel that way and Carla's been great at that," she said.
"She's put a great belief in this squad and they've backed it up so far, so there's nothing to say that they won't do it (tonight)."
Watch France v Republic of Ireland in FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying on Tuesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Inside Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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Source: RTE
