tournament

“In the end, I certainly appreciated it. It just brings attention to the tournament, to the sport and to women’s sports, which I think is what we want.”

The German's handling of Bellingham will likely be the main topic from now until the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.

Troy Parrott struck twice in the first half to keep Ireland's hopes of reaching next summer's tournament alive with a famous victory against Ronaldo and his team-mates in a Group F qualifier.

Didier Deschamps was the coach then and remains in charge now, with the approaching World Cup to be his final tournament before stepping down.

"I see a very, very low percentage that we take five number 10s into a tournament. I don't see how this will help us," he said.