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Marissa Callaghan says Northern Ireland "almost have to put the Euros behind us and think forward" as they go into Tuesday's friendly with Italy.
Northern Ireland will play their first home match on Tuesday since Euro 2022 in July, which was the country's first women's major tournament.
Captain Callaghan says the friendly is "an exciting beginning" for the team.
"It is nice to finish off such an incredible year with a friendly against a big team like Italy," said Callaghan.
"Now we have qualified for our first major tournament, what we want to do now is continue to do that."
Italy are ranked 14th in the world, compared to Northern Ireland in 49th place, and qualified for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next summer by topping their qualifying group.
Manager Kenny Shiels has spoken about the importance of using friendlies against higher-ranked nations to develop his young squad, and midfielder Callaghan adds playing teams such as Italy can only be beneficial as Northern Ireland look to build upon their historic Euros appearance.
"It's important we get the support off the association and get friendlies in all the international camps," said the 37-year-old.
"The big thing now is that we feed through our young players. We have so many experienced players and there is going to be a big transition over the next couple of years.
"For us it is about getting games and plenty of game time for the squad and hopefully, come September in the Nations League, we can go and qualify for more major tournaments."
Marissa Callaghan is one of nine Cliftonville players in Northern Ireland's squad
Seaview, where Northern Ireland qualified for the Euros with a historic play-off victory over Ukraine in April 2021, is set to be sold out for the match and Callaghan says she is "delighted" that 2022 will be rounded off with a home friendly.
"It's nice we have a home match to finish it because the fans have been so amazing for us this year," she added.
"To have them all with us at Seaview will be a fantastic occasion.
"It's going to be a tough game. They play very direct and they have some outstanding players.
"We have to make sure we are focused, we communicate and we stay tight and compact. We'll be set up to go and win the game, as we always are, and we look forward to it.
"Getting results is what keeps people interested. For us, it is about giving the fans what they want. It will be a fantastic game and hopefully we can score a few goals, give them something to cheer about and get a good result at the end of it."
