Northern Ireland star admits World Cup qualification 'would mean everything'
Ethan Galbraith admits securing World Cup qualification with Northern Ireland “would mean everything” as Michael O’Neill’s side look to upset the odds by beating Italy next week.
After winning their Nations League group, Northern Ireland booked a spot in a play-off semi-final but have been handed the toughest possible draw against the former champions in Bergamo.
Should O’Neill’s men progress past the Italians, they’d then face a decider against either Bosnia & Herzegovina or Wales for a place at the major tournament which is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States this summer.
Galbraith was a top performer throughout Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, playing in five of their six matches as they finished third behind Germany and Slovakia.
Glengormley native Galbraith has represented his country throughout the age groups before developing into a senior star, and admits playing at the World Cup would be the pinnacle of his career.
"It would mean everything,” he told the Irish FA’s media channel. “It would definitely be the best thing I would ever do in football.
"To be part of that, you could see in 2016 what it did for the players and the fans, bringing everyone together. It would be the best feeling in the world.”
Galbraith will come up against a star-studded Italian midfield on Thursday with Gennaro Gattuso naming Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali in his squad alongside Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella and Juventus ace Manuel Locatelli.
With Gianluigi Donnarumma, Riccardo Calafiori and Federico Chiesa also included, Galbraith is expecting a tough test, but insists Northern Ireland can’t show the opposition too much respect.
"It's going to be a tough game, everybody knows that,” he added. “You only have to look at the two Germany games, we were right in it.
"Any big nation we have went against, we have held our own. We're definitely going to have to be on our A-game, but in football anything can happen. Everyone is looking forward to it.
"We respect everyone we play against but just because it's a big team, you can't show them too much respect and sit off them.
"Like the Germany game, getting in their faces a bit, we have to play similar to that and show our quality on the ball."