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By contrast, Corrie Ndaba’s international debut was a long time coming.<\/p>\n
26-year-old Ndaba had not pulled on the green jersey since lining out at U21 level seven years ago, and was something of a surprise call-up for this end-of-season camp.<\/p>\n
Speaking after Thursday night’s game, the Lecce star said that his resilience and desire to play for Ireland all stemmed from his upbringing in Dublin.<\/p>\n
READ HERE: Heimir Reveals Current Ireland Stat That Can Guarantee Euro 2028 Qualification<\/a><\/p>\n READ HERE: Ireland Debutant Jaden Umeh Will Sit Leaving Cert In Montr\u00e9al Ahead Of Canada Friendly<\/a><\/p>\n Corrie Ndaba grateful for debut<\/p>\n Corrie Ndaba was emotional in the mixed zone after making his first senior appearance for Ireland.<\/p>\n “I have no words for how happy I am, and I’m motivated to just keep going, and hopefully there is more,” Ndaba said.<\/p>\n “I feel like I have a lot of courage and help from the lads, as it’s a great group, and I did feel confident. The gaffer gave me a lot of confidence and made me feel welcome. I was just so excited and happy to step on the pitch.”<\/p>\n He admitted that there had been challenging moments over the past few years, as he has dealt with constant loan spells and changing environments.<\/p>\n There has always been doubts but you just have to keep pushing through. Even in life, never mind football, there is rejection and people might not believe in you but like I said, I’m very resilient and I always want to keep going until I get there and hopefully this gives other kids the motivation that, if this is your dream, keep going and keep pushing and anything can happen.<\/p>\n Through it all, though, there was a clear goal.<\/p>\n Ndaba is eligible to play for South Africa, but his loyalty to Ireland never wavered, even as his wait for a senior debut went on.<\/p>\n The Dubliner said that being born and raised in Crumlin meant that there was only ever one option for him at international level.<\/p>\n “Coming from Crumlin, you have to have a bit of resilience and be tough,” Ndaba said.<\/p>\n Us Irish, that’s how we are, we’re very tough and I’ve always been that way since I was young.<\/p>\n I take motivation from people and all these players that I’ve seen making their debuts, or playing religiously for Ireland. It gave me motivation to keep pushing. I’ve made my debut and I’m really happy.<\/p>\n For me, I was born in Dublin and it was always a dream for me. I came here (Lansdowne) as a kid, watching the team and I’ve played with the players playing in the team, so I didn’t have anything else in my head.<\/p>\n A boy from Crumlin who loves Ireland is always going to want to play for Ireland.<\/p>\n It was a superb answer, and Ndaba said he hoped to inspire players who may not have been called up at underage level that their dream of representing Ireland is not over (he was only called up once apiece for the U18s and U21s).<\/p>\n Ndaba was teammates with a host of established Irish footballers at schoolboy level. Among those he namedropped were Mark Travers, Tyreke Wilson, Aaron O’Driscoll, and Danny Grant.<\/p>\n He moved to Ipswich at 16, before loan spells at various teams up and down the UK, including Ayr United, Salford City, Burton Albion, and Kilmarnock.<\/p>\n His move to Lecce in Serie A has presented challenges but also revitalised his career somewhat. He believes it helped him secure his place in Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson’s squad for this international window.<\/p>\n “It’s been a big culture change, but I feel like I can adapt to anything and just put myself out there,” Ndaba said.<\/p>\n “There’s been really hard moments, of course, but I’m blessed, happy, healthy, blessed. I’m happy that I can learn in that league, playing in top stadiums against top teams and players. Hopefully, I can use all my resilience and add to this squad.”<\/p>\n After achieving his dream of playing for Ireland at senior level, the dream of lining out in green on home soil at Euro 2028 is now a real target for Corrie Ndaba.<\/p>\n Yes, 100%. Whatever chance there is to play for Ireland, I want to play.<\/p>\n It’s an absolute honour to play for the badge and getting my debut now has made me even hungrier. Training and playing with top players that we have in this squad can only benefit me and it’s an unbelievable experience.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Ireland Player Ratings As Heimir’s Ten Men Secure Impressive Qatar Win<\/a><\/p>\n
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