Town defender Dara O’Shea has admitted it would be a dream come true to represent the Republic of Ireland at a major tournament as the Boys in Green eye qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Irish have not reached the World Cup since 2002 or qualified for a tournament of any description since Euro 2016. They have been drawn in a group with Hungary, Armenia and one of Portugal or Denmark where only the winners will qualify directly for the showcase event due to be held across North America.
O’Shea, who described his experiences as a supporter during the nation’s last tournament exploits, is hopeful that Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side can create history once again.
"It would be amazing for the whole country,” he said. "I went to the Euros in 2016 as a fan to watch them, so I know how much it means for us Irish people to qualify for a tournament.
"That ended up being one of the best weeks of my life just following them around France. It would be amazing and it’s hopefully something we can do and I’m sure the country would be immensely proud of us.
"I had an unbelievable week and I’m sure lots of other Irish people did too. I went with my dad, a couple of my mates and their dads too. We were only young at the time but we had a great time.
"I went to the Italy game where Robbie Brady scored late on and the one against Belgium as well which was good.”
Town have no fewer than four Republic of Ireland internationals in their side, with Jack Taylor joining O’Shea in the camp for the March fixtures against Bulgaria.
Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene are currently out injured but set to play an important role in the Irish push for the World Cup when those matches eventually come around.
"It’s definitely a chance for us, for sure,” O’Shea added. "That’s important for me and my career, it’s one of the things I want to achieve is getting to a major tournament with my country.
"I’ll be disappointed at the end of my career if I haven’t done that so it’s an opportunity for me to do that. Especially for us as a nation, we haven’t qualified since 2016 so it’s big for the whole country and it’s something I’m looking forward to.
"With Jack in the squad alongside myself, hopefully we’ll have a good chance of qualifying.”
Those qualifiers are due to begin from September but before all that, O’Shea and his international teammates will fight to retain their UEFA Nations League B status later this week.
Having finished third in their group, they will face Bulgaria in a two-legged play-off with the losers set to play their next Nations League campaign in League C.
O’Shea will aim to add to his 32 international caps, where he has played frequently at right-back, when they visit Sofia on Thursday and then host the return leg in his home city of Dublin on Sunday evening.
The 26-year-old said: "Playing for my country is one of the biggest honours you can get so hopefully I’ll be selected to play those games.”