{"id":301141,"date":"2026-02-16T16:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/301141\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:52:09","slug":"troy-parrott-on-becoming-republic-of-irelands-hero-and-mourinhos-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/301141\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy Parrott on becoming Republic of Ireland\u2019s hero and Mourinho\u2019s impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It was a moment that caused many Irish people to lose their capacity for rational thought. It was already the kind of high-stakes circumstance where the intensity of emotion overrides everything else, but there was none of that for the man at the centre. Troy Parrott<\/a> was alert to everything, which was exactly how he scored the goal that meant everything to a nation dreaming of reaching the Fifa World Cup 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a mental thing,\u201d the 24-year-old says now, sitting in a very relaxed mood in his Amsterdam apartment. \u201cIt\u2019s just getting in the box and hoping that the ball is going to fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s then a pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd believing that it\u2019s going to fall as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parrott is discussing his hat-trick goal against Hungary,<\/a> the 96th-minute match-winner that secured an improbable 3-2 comeback in Budapest and has also sent Ireland<\/a> to a World Cup qualification play-off in March. Even that was only possible after Parrott sensationally scored twice in a defiant 2-0 win over Portugal three days earlier.<\/p>\n

The very feeling of Budapest remains so much more than merely facts, significant as they are. It\u2019s about that belief, and the happiness that football represents. That\u2019s what seized global attention and briefly made Parrott one of the world\u2019s most famous players.<\/p>\n

He admits he\u2019s long stopped replaying the Hungary goal. \u201cI\u2019ve done all my watching,\u201d he laughs. \u201cThe goosebumps are gone a little bit now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Parrott<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Parrott celebrates in front of the Ireland fans after scoring against Portugal (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

On the rare occasions he still looks back, though, he finds the same feeling takes over \u2013 and it\u2019s not what you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I don\u2019t like looking back at it, or I stop it just after the celebration, because they kicked off and nearly had a shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think that shot is gonna go in, so I knock it off before that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just as well, because Parrott admits he can\u2019t look at his emotional post-match interview, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t watch that!\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of the world has, reflecting another mind-bending element to this. Parrott was the centre of one of the most famous moments of 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy phone did not stop for two weeks after it,\u201d Parrott says. \u201cAnd, ultimately, it hits more when it\u2019s for your country as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, that\u2019s what you want to do\u2026 it\u2019s something that I\u2019ll have for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut look, that\u2019s not going to be my career, you know. I\u2019m not going to be that fella who scored five goals one time in 2025. I want to have more big moments like that, hopefully starting in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Parrott\u2019s<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Parrott\u2019s 96th-minute intervention sparks Hungarian horror and Irish joy (AP)<\/p>\n

Such a promise carries even more weight given Parrott\u2019s distinctive career path. Having been a frustrated Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate who then tried different EFL loans, Parrott opted for the Dutch Eredivisie in 2023. It afforded him the space required. In moving from Excelsior to AZ Alkmaar, Parrott accelerated. \u201cFlying,\u201d as he puts it. A scoring record of one in two has already become two in three, forming \u201cprobably the best spell of my career\u201d.<\/p>\n

Such words are thrilling to anyone who saw Parrott\u2019s talent as a teenager. He was then talked of as \u201cthe next Robbie Keane\u201d, but that expectation created problems. Excitement was soon replaced by concern that he would never fulfil his talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of everywhere,\u201d Parrott says of the hype. \u201cThe next Robbie Keane, and the next this and the next that\u2026 I\u2019m happy to not be in that any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether any of this helped in any way, Parrott flatly says \u201cno\u201d. There\u2019s even a hint it went to his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 17 or 18, I probably thought I had all the answers, but I hadn\u2019t a clue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then you can read into stuff and think, \u2018yeah, maybe I should be playing\u2019 and then, really, you don\u2019t actually have any idea if you\u2019re ready or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt ready, but I don\u2019t think I was. I don\u2019t think I was physically developed enough to be playing against the big centre-halves of the Premier League. But, obviously, I just wanted to play, I was really smashing it at the underage in the academy. But, looking back\u2026 who knows? I didn\u2019t really get too many opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think all of those experiences moulded me into what I\u2019m becoming now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parrott does have praise for the then Spurs manager Jose Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

A celebratory slide as the Irish bench take to the field in delight (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made time to try to develop me, which positions to be in, using Harry Kane as a guide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not demanding then?<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the pitch, he was. Off the pitch, he was a very good character.\u201d They had a warm chat after AZ Alkmaar played Fenerbahce in the Europa League last season.\u2028Such experiences are why Parrott still wouldn\u2019t dismiss the traditional Irish pathway of going to England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the most natural route, so close to home,\u201d he maintains. \u201cI would never have thought about coming to a foreign country. Now it probably would be a thought if I could go back and change it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I tried England, I tried the Championship, I tried League One, I just wanted to explore something else in a different country, and, since I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve loved it. I feel it\u2019s a lot less physical, it\u2019s more technical, and that suits me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as the goals have increased, so have the elements to Parrott\u2019s game. His last six have been with his left foot, after he specifically honed that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always trying to improve,\u201d he says. \u201cI think my hold-up play is also getting a lot better. I\u2019m more physically built up; these are all things I\u2019m working on on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

That physique was certainly a source of focus after he euphorically whipped off his top in Budapest, but he doesn\u2019t see that as facetious. You can instead hear he has evidently had a moment of realisation about what he wants his career to be.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

In action for AZ Alkmaar against Crystal Palace in the Conference League (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very important. These are all probably two or three per cents, the recovery, the food, the sleep, but I think when everything\u2019s coming together, it gives your body the best chance to keep playing 90 minutes week after week. So I feel it\u2019s a mixture of different things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m learning, I\u2019m getting better, I\u2019m developing, I\u2019m enjoying myself. I\u2019m happy off the pitch so, look, I\u2019m really happy with the way my journey\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hence, he was primed going into that fateful week in November, a mood that amplified that of the team. A knee ligament injury meant Parrott missed September\u2019s disastrous 2-1 defeat in Armenia and restricted him to a 25-minute cameo in the nervous (and seemingly irrelevant) 1-0 win over the same opponents in Dublin the following month. He credits manager Heimir Hallgrimsson with \u201ctrying to help us have belief, even though the rest of the country probably didn\u2019t\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I felt, especially this season, just in a kind of flow state, where I\u2019m going to games really positive and believing I can score goals and play very well. I said before Portugal that we have a chance and we\u2019ll have to go and do it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few years as well, we haven\u2019t had any good results against the top teams, so we all believed in the changing room we were due. So, Portugal, everything on the night just felt right. The goals, the [Cristiano Ronaldo] red card, we were killing them on the counterattack. And I think, once we beat them, it was like a sign. \u2018Now\u2019 it is basically all or nothing going into the Sunday. We were flying.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was soaring. After a poacher\u2019s header put Ireland 1-0 up against Portugal, Parrott then really displayed that talent with a weaving run and finish. That second goal was only surpassed in quality by the crucial equaliser against Hungary, to make it 2-2 on 80 minutes. Parrott showed presence and precision to control the ball and then deftly lift it over Denes Dibusz, all in one movement.<\/p>\n

Aside from being the sort of thing that doesn\u2019t usually happen to Ireland, this was the sort of goal that Ireland haven\u2019t historically scored. It does raise a more philosophical question, relevant to the expectation around him as a youth. Is Parrott reviving Dublin\u2019s street football heritage?<\/p>\n

\u201cPossibly\u2026 I think it\u2019s just, in the moment, that\u2019s what came into my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"During<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

During Parrott\u2019s time at Tottenham, Jose Mourinho \u2018made time to try to develop me, which positions to be in, using Harry Kane as a guide\u2019 (Action Images\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

Given this ingenuity, a Roberto Baggio quote is put to him:<\/a> does he actively try \u201cto do the magical thing\u2026 but in an effective way\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cTo be honest, I just want the ball in the back of the net. Whatever way I can get it in there, I\u2019m going to do it. But look, sometimes it might look like that, if you chip the keeper or something. But, for me, it\u2019s just about finding the best way to get the ball into the goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve seen the peno I tried to chip [a missed Panenka against Twente], that\u2019s just what came into my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then, obviously, other things happen, where you might have to change your mind last second. Like, if a defender\u2019s coming, or if the keeper stays up, then I have to put it low. These are all split-second decisions. This is what goes through the head of a footballer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about seeing what opportunities present themselves. So, when I was going through [against Hungary], the keeper ducked down early, so I knew I could chip it over him. It just happened in the moment, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, the big moment happened. As the clock ticked into the 95th minute with Ireland needing a goal, Parrott says he felt that \u201creal belief\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"Parrott<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Parrott is the subject of an Irish pile-on after his Budapest heroics (Getty)<\/p>\n

Again, he was fully alert to what was required, which is why he can remember Caoimhin Kelleher\u2019s launch to Liam Scales with such clarity.<\/p>\n

He recalls: \u201cI was all the way out on the sideline and I\u2019m just thinking, \u2018just get into the box\u2019\u2026 and then, once you see Scalesy winning the header, it\u2019s just trying to judge where it\u2019s going to land.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the goal captured the attention of the world, then the aftermath played on emotion in a heartfelt interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just came out,\u201d Parrott remembers. \u201cMy family was there right behind the bench as well. It was a beautiful day.\u201d<\/p>\n

And week. Although the rest of the Irish squad immediately returned to Dublin for celebrations, Parrott stayed in Budapest for two days.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family weren\u2019t flying home until Tuesday because there were no flights home, so I didn\u2019t want to just leave them,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably better that way, gave me a bit more time to wind down, relax, and kind of take it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exact same sensibility is why he\u2019s \u201cmore focused now on looking forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

The Dubliner has scored 23 goals for AZ Alkmaar this season (Getty)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s similar with his club future. The Independent has already reported on how Parrott has firm interest from Fulham, Real Betis and Wolfsburg<\/a>, with scores of other clubs monitoring. That will escalate if he plays in a World Cup. While the inclination might then be to return to the Premier League, one consideration has been to go to the Bundesliga first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hard question,\u201d Parrott says. \u201cI haven\u2019t thought about it. I feel where I\u2019m at right now, I\u2019m in a very, very good position, playing with a smile on my face. So whatever happens is going to happen. I\u2019m just focused on the now, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now involves the build-up to the play-off away to the Czech Republic, before a potential showdown in Dublin with Denmark or North Macedonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to give it everything. If we win, we win. Nobody knows what\u2019s going to happen. But one thing I can say is, we\u2019re going to go into the games full of confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chance is still there, and that\u2019s all we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has that belief, to be more than just one week in November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-301141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}