Amber Barrett (born 16 January 1996) is an Irish international footballer who plays for Super League club Standard Liège. She made her debut for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team in September 2017. A prolific forward, Barrett was the WNL Player of the Season in 2017 and top goalscorer in 2016, 2017 and 2018 with Peamount United.

Amber Barrett
Playing for Köln in October 2020
Personal information
Full name Amber Barrett[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Milford, County Donegal, Ireland
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Standard Liège
Number 9
Youth career
Lagan Harps FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Peamount United
2019–2022 1. FC Köln 48 (16)
2022–2023 Turbine Potsdam 17 (0)
2023– Standard Liège 32 (22)
International career
2017– Republic of Ireland 37 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Club career

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Barrett's father, Shaun Paul Barrett, has managed numerous clubs and county teams for Donegal GAA, as has her brother, Luke.[2] Another brother, Kane, has also been involved with Milford.[2]

In 2017 Barrett, who was in the final year of a teacher training course at Maynooth University, quit Donegal GAA when a bout of glandular fever forced her to choose between Gaelic football and soccer.[3] She was named Women's National League Player of the Season and Top Goalscorer in the 2017 season.[4] In 2018 she lost out on the Player of the Season to Rianna Jarrett but retained her Top Goalscorer award by scoring 30 goals, including seven hat-tricks, in 21 league appearances.[5][6]

In 2019 she joined German side 1. FC Köln, newly promoted to the Frauen-Bundesliga,[7] where she spent three years before signing for Turbine Potsdam in July 2022.[8]

In June 2023 Barrett signed for Standard Liège of the Belgian Women's Super League, the first tier of women's football in Belgium.[9]

International career

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National team coach Colin Bell gave Barrett her senior debut in September 2017, as a substitute in a 2–0 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying win over Northern Ireland at Mourneview Park in Lurgan. She started an encouraging 0–0 draw away to European Champions the Netherlands in November 2017 and was praised by Bell for her performance.[10]

In April 2018, Barrett's 87th-minute winning goal secured a 2–1 win over Slovakia at Tallaght Stadium, which kept Ireland in contention for World Cup qualification.[11]

On 11 October 2022, Barrett's scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Scotland to send Ireland to the World Cup for the first time.[12] She was included in Vera Pauw's team for the tournament, and made her debut as a substitute in Ireland's second game.

International appearances

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2016 2 0
2017 3 0
2018 7 1
2019 6 1
2020 4 0
2021 6 2
2022 6 1
2023 2 2
Total 36 7

International goals

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Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Barrett goal. Updated as of 5 May 2023
International goals scored by Amber Barrett
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 7 6 April 2018 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Ireland   Slovakia 2-1 2-1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification [13]
2 18 12 November 2019 Nea Smyrni Stadium, Athens, Greece   Greece 1-0 1-1 UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying [14]
3 24 11 June 2021 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland   Iceland 2-3 2-3 Friendly [15]
4 28 30 November 2021 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin   Georgia 10-0 11-0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup UEFA qual. Group A [16]
5 33 11 October 2022 Hampden Park, Glasgow   Scotland 1-0 1-0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup UEFA play-offs [17]
6 36 22 June 2023 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin   Zambia 1-1 3-2 Friendly [18]
7 3-1

Personal life

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Barrett shares a cat named Wee Bobby with fellow Standard Liège and Republic of Ireland teammate, Claire O'Riordan.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: Republic Of Ireland (IRL)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 July 2023. p. 25. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Craig, Frank (11 March 2021). "Barrett thankful for sporting escape: 'GAA players are elite athletes', says former Donegal star". Donegal News. p. 48. The Barrett household in Milford is a huge GAA house with brothers Luke and Kane members of the senior set-up there. Her dad Shaun Paul is also a household name in the north west having managed a host of Donegal underage sides over the years and is, of course, the current Milford senior boss.
  3. ^ Hannigan, Mary (8 March 2018). "Amber Barrett dreams of World Cup after parking All-Ireland ambitions". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Donegal's Amber Barrett named player of the year". Ocean FM. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  5. ^ Gallagher, Aaron (10 November 2018). "Ireland striker Jarrett named Player of the Year after scoring 27 goals during injury-hit season". The42.ie. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Aaron (4 November 2018). "'In PE class a fella turns around and says: lads she's playing in the Aviva next week, so go easy on the tackles'". The42.ie. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Amber Barrett goes pro in Cologne". 17 June 2019.
  8. ^ Duffy, Emma (28 July 2022). "Republic of Ireland striker secures big German switch". The42.ie. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  9. ^ Hannigan, Mary (13 June 2023). "Ireland striker Amber Barrett secures move to Standard Liege in Belgium". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  10. ^ Cooney, Gavin (5 April 2018). "Ireland Star Amber Barrett On Smashing Gender Stereotypes And Getting The Country Behind The WNT". Balls.ie. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Amber Barrett keeps Ireland's World Cup dream alive". Irish Examiner. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  12. ^ "History in Hampden as Ireland clinch qualification for 2023 World Cup". The 42. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Super-sub Barrett secures Slovak win". FAI. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Late goal denies Ireland WNT away win". FAI. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Iceland 3-2 WNT". FAI. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  16. ^ "WNT 11-0 Georgia". FAI. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Scotland 0-1 WNT". FAI. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Ireland 3-2 Zambia score recap and result as Amber Barrett's double completes the turnaround". Irish Mirror. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Amber Barrett: 'I say nothing when I don't know the full truth ... The social media people should have done the same'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
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