Mustaki has the French connection to earn Tallaght edge

The Republic of Ireland have a not-so-secret weapon that might give them a little edge in their attempts to do something special against France in Tuesday night's World Cup qualifier at Tallaght Stadium.

Chloe Mustaki's excellence in a central back three over two legs against Belgium in October's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off was a reminder of how much she can offer when trusted and injury free.

Tenacious and composed, she offered valuable balance on Ireland's left side to liberate the swashbucklng Katie McCabe.

She should get the nod against Les Bleus, who might be wary of discussing setpiece plans or tactical tweaks within earshot of the 30-year-old Nottingham Forest player. Mustaki's dad is French, she spent part of her childhood near Paris and had a stint playing in Bordeaux. There will be no cachotteries.

"Hopefully I'll be able to hear any chit-chat during the game and cop on quickly to anything they are trying to do!" Mustaki laughed ahead of the Girls in Green's opening World Cup qualifier.

"My first words were in French, my dad spoke to me in French and my mum spoke to me in English, so for the first few years of my life, I was speaking 'Franglais' is what they say. I just grew up speaking it and then when to a French school until I was 14.

"I see myself as partly French, but when it comes to Tuesday night, it'll be 100% Irish."

"Even though my parents split up when I was only three years of age, it was important from my dad's perspective that I keep up that part of my history and my heritage. He's never allowed me to speak English to him. It's just always been French so that I keep that up and then having grown up around my grandparents, my French grandparents, I love that part of my family.

"It's really helped shape who I am today. I see myself as partly French, but when it comes to Tuesday night, it'll be 100% Irish."

Mustaki, who's enjoying a fine campaign with Nottingham Forest in WSL2, has shown remarkable resilience to maintain a career at the top end of the game. She was dignosed with Hodgkins lymphoma aged 19, shortly after captaining the Republic of Ireland under-19s to the semi-finals of the 2014 European Championships.

She came through it, but later suffered an ACL injury that sidelined her for a year. Up to last summer, Mustaki was unsure if she'd ever play for her country again, a hip injury prematurely ending her season in the spring of 2024 and requiring more extensive rehab.

And yet she kept going. A call-up from Carla Ward for the June friendlies against the USA was embraced with typical grit: Mustaki was excellent in two clashes that were played in high altitude/intense humidity. Those games were not for the faint-hearted, but Mustaki did so well she ended up getting the nod from the start for both legs of October's Nations League promotion/relegation defeat of the Belgians.

"It's kind of felt like a long time coming for me," she said. "You're always nervous and you're thrown into a big game, but hopefully I proved just a little bit what I'm about and that's really only a starting point for me. I want to be able to build on that and show my qualities and hopefully try to keep my place going forward.

"I think (the Belgium performances are) a baseline for us. We need to be even better against these two nations coming up. So that's a starting point for us, and we need to improve day in, day out in order to compete with the best teams and obviously hope to finish not fourth in our group."

Mustaki worked as an investment banking consultant before the opportunity to play football professionally arose with Bristol City arose a few years ago. More recently, she completed a 12-month course to become a qualified health and life coach, a vocation that felt like a natural fit given her own life experience.

Often a sounding board for teammates who've endured injury setbacks, Mustaki had sincere words of support for Lily Agg, who has just returned to action with Durham following a year out with an ACL injury. In pre-surgery, doctors spotted a mole that was later diagnosed as melanoma in situ, an early stage skin cancer. Agg has since made a full recovery.

"I used to play for Bristol City with (Lily's) partner, Harley Bennett, so I was only with them a few weeks ago," added Mustaki.

"Lily has been through the ringer the last 12 months, bless her, so credit to her to get herself back in position she has now with her club with everything that has been going on.

"For someone who has gone through different kind of scares and an ACL over the past 12 months, she has been amazing and I am so proud of her. Hopefully we will see her back here very soon."

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