Heartbreak drives Jessie Stapleton as she's ready to be a leader for Ireland under Carla Ward
JESSIE Stapleton is driven by the moment that was the high — and low — of her career.
Euro 2025 kicks off next Wednesday but rather than preparing for the tournament in Switzerland, Ireland are in Denver ahead of tonight's first of
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The 20-year-old has already played 15 times for Ireland scoring two goals
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Stapleton started in midfield in the heartbreaking play-off loss to Wales
And the pain of missing out still lingers six months after Ireland's qualification hopes were extinguished by a
Stapleton admitted: 'It was probably one of the worst games to experience, but it's one of those pinnacle moments in my career.
'I look now and think, 'I never want to feel like that again after a match'.
'I've knuckled down and tried to do everything I can to be in the best condition because I never want to feel like that again.'
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She added: 'You have a lot of friends who are going to be at the Euros.
"So it's finding that balance between supporting your friend and the pain of watching it.'
But while the next few weeks might be tough viewing, the clashes with the USA tonight and on Sunday are about making sure Ireland are ready for the World Cup qualifiers.
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Ireland's route to the 2027 finals in Brazil is yet to be determined, but boss Carla Ward wanted these matches with the world No 1 side to see new leaders stand out following some big-name retirements.
At just 20 years old and with 15 caps, centre-half Stapleton admitted she needs to stand up and be counted.
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The former Shelbourne defender said: 'A lot of people say I'm way beyond my years. That's a credit to the people around me. A lot of people have looked after me.
'Being in camp from 16 or whatever, you sort of grow up. I still have youth on my side, I'm still kiddish, I'm still childish but I'd say I'm quite mature.
'When I was younger I captained the underage teams, so I think that is part of my game.'
Stapleton has been lucky to have retired trio Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell and Niamh Fahey, along with Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan, to look up to.
The North Carolina Courage star O'Sullivan and Megan Campbell are ruled out for tonight through injury.
Dubliner Stapleton said: 'I feel like from a young age I looked up to the leaders we lost, like Lou Quinn, Di, Niamh Fahey.
'I look up to Dinny, Katie . . . but the girls have different personality traits. I try to be a sponge and learn from them. If there's a day where they're not in the camp, I'd like to be able to step up.'
And she credited boss Ward for pushing her to be take a bigger role.
Stapleton said: 'It's the confidence she has in us. We can go and show our personalities on the pitch.
'People have different types of personalities and you get different things out of them. If leadership is one of mine, Carla's doing a great job bringing it out by giving me that belief and confidence.'
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