Man of the moment Troy Parrott underlined class as he reflected on his Tottenham Hotspur departure.
The AZ Alkmaar striker has become a national hero after scoring a hat-trick as the Republic of Ireland snatched a World Cup play-off place from Hungary’s grasp with a dramatic 3-2 win in Budapest on Sunday.
Parrott brought the sides back to level twice before securing victory in the sixth minute of added time on a day when only three points were enough to keep their qualification hopes alive.
As a 15-year-old, Parrott was wanted by a host of top clubs in England before plumping for Spurs. However, it never worked out for him in north London and following numerous loan spells, he cut ties for good by joining Dutch outfit AZ in the summer of 2024 for £6.7million.
Parrott has no issue with how things panned out at Spurs and spoke positively about the club earlier this year. He said: “For me it just didn't happen [with Spurs]. I’m OK with that.
“I look back with a smile. It’s a place where I grew up. I moved away from home quite young, so when I went there, I was in a phase of going from a kid to a teenager and then past that. It helped me become the person and player I am now, so I can only look back on that with good memories.”
Speaking after his heroics in Budapest, Parrott told RTE: “I’m really, really emotional. They’re tears of joy. Ah, what a night, what a night.
“This is why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look, I love where I’m from, so this means the world to me. My family is here. It’s the first time I’ve cried in years as well, I really, really can’t believe it.
“Everyone is crying. I said against Portugal [who Ireland beat a few days earlier] that this is what dreams are made of, but this, tonight, I don’t think I’ll ever have a better night in my whole life.”
Ireland have discovered their qualifying path in the World Cup play-offs. Heimir Hallgrimsson’s will play away to Czechia for the right to face either Denmark or North Macedonia in their path final. Ireland will host their play-off final, provided they beat the Czechs.
Wales will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in their semi-final. Craig Bellamy’s side secured their place by finishing second behind Belgium in qualifying Group J and will be the home team for the one-off match.
Should Wales win, they will face either Italy or Northern Ireland for a place at the finals in North America next summer. Northern Ireland, who qualified through the Nations League, have been handed the difficult task of travelling to Italy for their play-off semi-final. The games will take place on March 26 and 31.
