HAVE YOU BEEN busy? Jamie Finn has. Very busy.
In April she was instrumental in helping the Ireland Women’s team qualify for the U17 European Championships.
Earlier this month she completed her Leaving Certificate and this weekend she captains Ireland as they get set to the take on the best the continent has to offer.
Still, the former St Finian’s Community College Swords pupil isn’t letting any of it faze her. Indeed, the prospect of the Euros was just the distraction she needed during the preparation for her Leaving.
“It was really hard to fit everything,” she told The42 this week before the team flew out to Iceland, “but I just did what I could to get the extra training.
“To be honest it was kind of a relief to get away from the study a little bit.”
Finn was one of just two players in the squad to have exam issues, Jess Nolan being the other, but she’s glad she can join the rest of her colleagues in focusing on the task at hand.
“It was nice to start training last Friday. We’d a practise game on Sunday where we didn’t get the result we wanted but we’re going to take some things out of it and move forward to the first game against France.”
The Raheny club woman has no issues with playing a practise game so close to the Euros either saying, if anything, having the opportunity to keep yourself in the manager’s mind a week out from a major tournament is very much a positive.
“I think you’re out to impress so much, you’re so desperate to make the squad for that first game, you just don’t want to hold anything back at all. For that reason you’ll never even consider pulling out of a 50/50 ball.”
For those who don’t remember, Ireland faced an agonising wait to see if they had qualified for Euro 2015 despite a brilliant 2-0 win over England in April.
However, after a nervy 48 hours, qualification as the best runners up from the six qualifying groups was confirmed and Finn says that, even though she’d have preferred if they’d all be together, the bond between the squad is such that it hasn’t spoiled the qualification
“I suppose it was quite nerve-wracking as we didn’t find out until two-or-tree days after our final game whether or not we’d made it. It was, obviously, good that we qualified in the end but the whole team wasn’t together when we got the news.
“Which is a pity as our squad is like a family and I think the best thing you can say about our team is that there are no cliques, we’re all just one big team and I think that works really well for us off the field as well and on it.
“It’s really important.”
Finn and Ireland will kick off their campaign tomorrow (22 June) against the French with Switzerland (25 June) and a game against Norway rounding out the group (28 June).
Most of Finn’s focus at the moment, however, is on the opening game.
“We know a lot about the group and we’ve done a lot of video analysis on France in particular because they’re first up. We know how they play, we know how they set up, and that’s exactly what we’ve been training for this week. We know exactly what we have to do.
“[Video analysis] is definitely a long way from what I was used to when I first picked up a football. But I do think it’s important, not just for looking at what the opposition, but for looking at yourself and getting a inkling for what you’re doing right or not.
“If you don’t give 100% you will be found out on video.”
As for Ireland’s prospects, Finn is in bullish mood:
“We feel we can win it. Maybe other nations feel we can’t but I think we’re going into it looking to win the whole thing. The first game is going to be vital though against France.
“If we get that first win I think we’ll show the rest of Europe that we’re going there to win.”
