Northern Ireland vs Iceland: Meet ‘infectious’ and ‘resilient’ new midfielder Mia Moore

Foy says having a group of players of the same age and friends off the field helped them “stick together” on it.

“Off the field, they’re all great friends and push each other to get better, and it’s all starting to come together.

“Now, it’s the seniors who are trying to keep up with the juniors in how much they ask for, whether that’s extra sessions or what they ask of us as players.”

Northern Ireland midfielder Julie Andrews felt that the involvement of local players Moore and Kerr in the Oxtoby side showed that “the pathway we have is working well”.

“We have the likes of Mia and Amy Kerr coming in, and they don’t come just for the sake of it. They come together and push.

“They have come in at the right place and are pushing the standards of training.

“Mia is really talented and she’s really good on the ball. She’s a really exciting forward and she’s aggressive off the ball as well.

“She’s going to bring a lot to this camp and bring a lot of energy to practice, so it’s really good to have her with us.”

While Foy believes Moore could eventually play across the water, she says “timing is everything” and the Women’s Super League is not a bad place for her to develop under coach Kim Turner, a former international and Manchester City player.

“Right now, she seems very happy with where she is and where she is developing.”

“Mia could probably use an extra year here, especially coming back from her ACL. She was able to make an impact in the league this year, and I know she can be better.”

“She scored 12 goals for us this year and we all know she can improve on that next year.

“She’s had great training under Kim, who has been playing and coaching across the water. Mia has no better teacher to make those decisions.”