IF JOSH Cullen had banished the bitter memory of gift-wrapping France three qualification points in Dublin back in March, he was reminded of his misplaced pass several times yesterday that allowed Benjamin Pavard to fire home the only goal of a pulsating game.
What’s not remembered as vividly about that cool night in the Irish capital is how Ireland’s deep-lying midfielder reacted to his mistake.
For the next 40 minutes plus stoppage-time, Cullen led Ireland’s pursuit of an equaliser, which ultimately never came – but the overall performance was the team’s best under boss Stephen Kenny.
Speaking from the team’s headquarters in Abbotstown ahead of the return tie with the French in Paris on Thursday night, Cullen said: “After you make a mistake, you can’t dwell on it because it can get away from you very quickly if you do that and one mistake can become a lot more.
“I just tried to get it out of my head as quickly as I could on the night but after the game it hurts. Making a mistake is difficult to take, especially in a game for your country and a game of the magnitude that it was.
“On the pitch you’ve got to show the mental strength to get on with it and still put in the best performance for the team.
“You're obviously disappointed with yourself in that moment. Because we care so much, it hurts for a few days after.
“It's something you have to get over. But like I said, you must have that resilience to believe in the way you play.
“You only have one chance to make that split second decision and not every decision you make on a football pitch is going to be right. When you're playing against opposition of the level of France, you get punished. It's something that hurt no doubt about it.”
The noise coming out of the Irish camp this week is that one crazy win against the French on Thursday night or at home to Holland on Sunday can transform the complexion of Group B and put Kenny’s men back in the qualification frame.
For all of Ireland’s impressive play against France just over five months ago, they left the Aviva Stadium empty-handed.
In June, there were few redeeming features from their flat display against Greece in Athens that saw them slump to a 2-1 defeat.
Even their 3-0 home win over Gibraltar a few days later couldn’t lift the gloom.
But with just three games played, there could be quite a few twists and turns along the road to the finals in Germany next summer.
“I feel like we are well in the group,” Cullen insisted. “We know we are going to have to win games, and win games against very good sides but I feel like we are well in the group.
“We believe in ourselves going into the game on Thursday and going into the game on Sunday, that we can do something special.
“I think we showed that in the first performance against France, that we can definitely match them. It is something we are looking forward to.
“We're going to have to be at the top of our game, it goes without saying. We're playing against one of the best teams in world football.
“It's about trying to add to the performance in March. We'll do that by analysing the game, as we've already started to do as a team since we arrived into camp yesterday, by looking back at the previous game, seeing what we did well and what we can improve on.”
Cullen has been one of Kenny’s foot soldiers since he assumed the reins during COVID, while the 27-year-old has also won the trust of Burnley boss Vincent Kompany who handed him the captain’s armband at Turf Moor this season.
Despite losing their first three Premier League games, and conceding 11 goals, Cullen feels he’s in a good head space as the Republic try to reignite their Euro 2024 campaign.
"It's been enjoyable first and foremost. Obviously, the first three games haven't gone as we would have liked, results-wise. But it's still very early stages in the season. A lot to learn, but positives to build on."
