Matt Doherty is setting his sights on World Cup glory with the Republic of Ireland after notching up his 50th cap.
The 33 year old celebrated his half-century milestone for Ireland in their 2-1 Nations League play-off triumph against Bulgaria in Dublin, a landmark the Wolves defender feared he might never reach after a delayed start to his international career.
However, having seen Portugal confirm their place as top seeds in a group which also includes Ireland, Hungary and Armenia for the qualification campaign which gets under way in September, Doherty is desperate to end Ireland’s wait to play tournament football for the first time since Euro 2016.
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Reflecting on his ambitions, Doherty remarked: "That's the one thing you want to do the most. I have said it before, that feeling of playing for your country is just hard to match up to, what it does to the country, the fan base, everything, it brings everyone together.
"I can only imagine if we get to the World Cup in America, everyone's family following them around, the support we'd have over there in the stadiums.. Potentially this campaign could be the last one, so it's something I would really like to do."
It's been a long wait for Ireland since their last World Cup finals appearance in 2002, and despite a near miss in 2010 marred by Thierry Henry's infamous handball incident, they now face a formidable challenge with Portugal expected to dominate the group.
While acknowledging last summer's 3-0 friendly loss, Republic of Ireland have largely held their own against Portugal and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years – noting Ronaldo's late heroics in Faro that snatched a win in a World Cup qualifier back in September 2021, with the Dublin rematch ending in a draw.
Discussing the group, Doherty said: "I think in the group, there's not a huge amount to be fearful of. We should go in there full of confidence, really believing in ourselves. We have a real shot at this."
The Wolves defender made no secret of his disappointment at being left out of some of Heimir Hallgrimsson’s early squads as he considered his options, but rediscovering his best club form under Vitor Pereira, who has employed him on the right side of a back three, has restated his case eloquently.
Yet, for Doherty who only started his international career at 26, reaching a half-century of caps was not a given: "Obviously I am very happy to do that, very proud. It was something I was thinking about as I was getting closer, when I went past 45.
"Then you are not in a couple of camps and you think, 'do I get there?' Then you think, maybe get to 50 and then anything after that is a bonus."
