Glenn Whelan believes he may just have spotted a star of the future during the Republic of Ireland's 1-1 Euro 2016 qualifier draw in Germany.
Ireland had to withstand concerted pressure in Gelsenkirchen as the Germans, who included five of the men who started the World Cup final in Brazil three months earlier, attempted to bounce back from their surprise 2-0 defeat in Poland.
One of them, midfielder Toni Kroos, proved a major threat throughout, repeatedly stretching the visitors with his precise passing, and it was the 24-year-old Real Madrid star who eventually broke the deadlock 19 minutes from time.
Whelan said with a smile: “I think the boy Kroos has a little chance in football. They are obviously top players, and not just the midfielders. But the boys behind us tonight, the two centre-halves and especially [midfielder David] Meyler out there as well playing right-back, jack of all trades, he did brilliantly.
“We are just happy. We knew it was going to be a tough game and we knew we weren’t going to have a lot of the ball, but we showed great character to get a result.”
That result came in fairytale style as, moments after substitute Wes Hoolahan had been denied by a last-ditch block, central defender John O'Shea turned up deep in injury time to stab home an equaliser with the last kick of his 100th appearance for Ireland.
By that point, Whelan was on the sidelines having earlier limped off injured, but the pain evaporated as the ball hit the back of the net.
He said: “At 1-0, you are still in with any chance. It’s the Irish spirit, the Irish passion. You keep going until the death.
“Maybe if it was two or three, heads would have slumped, but being 1-0 down, we knew we still had a chance and maybe could have nicked a goal before that with Wes’ chance.
“But it doesn’t matter who gets on it at the end. But it’s great for John, 100 caps and to get a result the way we did, it was a perfect night.
“They are tough places to go, and especially against the world champions in their own back yard with their crowd. But it was the performance that we needed for ourselves in the dressing room to kick on and have the belief that we can do something in this campaign.”
Stoke midfielder Whelan has remained a fixture in the Republic team under new manager Martin O'Neill having been a stalwart of the Giovanni Trapattoni era, although his efforts have sometimes gone unappreciated outside the camp.
However, the 30-year-old is happy to do whatever is required of him in a green shirt, and insisted he will cherish a positive result against the world champions after the heartbreak of a disappointing Euro 2012 finals campaign.
He said: “Obviously I’m told to do a job and I’ll do it as best I can. The manager knows what I can do. These results for us haven’t come around, especially in my time in a green jersey, so I’m definitely going to cherish tonight and hopefully kick on from here.”
O’Neill’s three competitive games to date have yielded seven points and Whelan was quick to point to his influence.
He said: “He’s a new manager coming in with new beliefs, a different character.
“It’s different for us because we know we have got an Irishman who has the passion. He has come in with his own ideas and his own backroom staff and given everyone the belief that we can actually do something.”
