Katie McCabe may be in electric form, but there is plenty more reason for festive cheer among the Ireland squad as they prepare for the final international window of 2023.
Two more Nations League fixtures await Eileen Gleeson's side, and they are likely to be the last games they will play under the guidance of the interim boss.
Speaking ahead of Friday's clash with Hungary at Tallaght Stadium, Gleeson was asked about the recent excellence of captain Katie McCabe. A Ballon d'Or nominee for the first time this year, McCabe is in the form of her life - but Gleeson was keen to point out that she is not the only player in the squad in electric form.
Speaking to Balls and the Irish media on Thursday, with a Christmas tree decorating the press conference room, Gleeson highlighted the many players in the squad entering their peak.
She also said that not only would that bring benefits for Ireland's current performance level, but that it would help with bringing in the young players entering the squad for the first time:
Listen, Katie's brilliant. She's a real leader in this team and she's in the form of her life.
But, I think, also around Katie is a lot of players who are in the form of their life right now.
We've got Kyra [Carusa] playing at the highest level, we've got Denise O'Sullivan, we've got Caitlin Hayes coming in and really driving performances as well.
Then we've got young players like Izzy Atkinson terrorising and being really direct and putting really good balls into the box. Abbie Larkin and Heather Payne...
What we're starting to get is a collective peaking of performances - or, certainly, enhanced performances.
Then, those young players are coming through and playing with no fear and expressing themselves, and being willing and wanting to be there and putting in balls and scoring goals.
It's building to something really nice. For us in here to have that experience of players at their peak performance and then those young players coming in as well, it is a really nice mix.
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"It's very convenient!" - Kyra Carusa and Eileen Gleeson on brilliant form of Ireland WNT
30 November 2023; Kyra Carusa and interim head coach Eileen Gleeson during a Republic of Ireland women press conference at their team hotel in Castleknock, Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Kyra Carusa alongside Eileen Gleeson was also asked about how the past two windows have been as a striker, with the creative force of Katie McCabe opening up the opposition defences throughout this Nations League campaign.
Carusa, who has matched McCabe's tally of four goals across the first four games, echoed her manager's point that it is not only Katie McCabe who is flying in an Ireland shirt, and praised the general performances of her teammates across the campaign.
She pointed out that, with 12 goals across the three games so far, Ireland have needed a plentiful source of goals, and that the entire attack has played their part in that - while acknowledging that McCabe's performances had been central to that
It's very convenient, having Katie assist you...I can tell you that!
It's a privilege playing with a player with such ability as Katie. I've had the opportunity to play with her across the last few years, and I'd say that that woman is always in form from when I've played with her. Especially now...you can see the result in her play and how she affects the team that way.
If anything, it drives standards as an example. For me, as a player, I always look to Katie in those situations and think that the way she does it is the way I want to do it.
Like I've said before, energy is contagious. It catches on quite quickly, especially among a squad that is as tight as we are and on the same page as we are. As a striker myself, when the goals start going in, it just becomes so fluid.
The most exciting thing for me is not only that I'm putting the ball in the net, but that we have many other people in the team doing it as well. You can see the many facets of our team, and how dangerous we can be from every angle.
It's not just set pieces, it's not just one player, it's not just one action that a team has to take note of - it's many people on the field making a difference, being out there and being able to put the ball in the back of the net.
For me, that's really exciting, but it's also a testament to how we're training and that confidence we have, and that ability for us to lift each other up. If not one of us puts the ball in the net but the other one, it's only good things.
Ireland face Hungary in Tallaght Stadium at 7:30pm on Friday evening, with the game live on RTÉ 2. The final game of the Nations League campaign sees them face Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast next Tuesday, with kick-off at 6pm.
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