Joe Hodge is ready to celebrate a rare hat-trick in Tel Aviv tomorrow night.
The Wolves midfielder has already featured in European Championships at Under-17 and Under-19 level - and he is just 90 minutes away from reaching the Under-21 finals.
As this would be Ireland’s first ever appearance at this level, Hodge is one of the few Boys in Green stars who can complete the illustrious treble next summer.
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He lined out for the Under-17s when Ireland hosted the tournament in 2019 - and was so impressive that, at the age of 16, he was included in the Under-19 finals a few months later.
Hodge even scored an equaliser in Ireland’s opener against Norway as Tom Mohan’s men made the semi-finals in Armenia, only to bow out to Portugal.
Other teammates in this current squad that are aiming for the hat-trick of UEFA underage finals include goalkeeper Brian Maher, Lee O’Connor, Tyreik Wright and Festy Ebosele.
Oisin McEntee, who misses the play-offs through injury, is another, while Andrew Omobamidele would complete the three if he drops down from the seniors next summer.
Of course, it all depends on tomorrow night’s result in Tel Aviv.
Ireland’s play-off with Israel is poised at 1-1 after last Friday’s first-leg in Tallaght - a match in which Hodge made his debut at Under-21 level.
For someone who has starred in two European finals so far, it was his first ever qualification appearance.
And he made a Roy Keane-style introduction when he delivered a thumping - but fair - sliding challenge near the Irish dugout with less than two minutes on the clock.
“It’s always nice getting in the game and putting in a tackle in, getting on the ball, whatever it is that builds your confidence,” he said of his rip-roaring start
“I was just lucky it broke to me in the first minute to get involved.”
Hodge (20) added: “I never played in the qualifiers for either (Under-17 or Under-19) tournament.
“But the experience of going over there was brilliant, to showcase ourselves and show what we can do against the best teams in Europe.
“We are one game away from it now, so hopefully we can get there.
“It’s been a long campaign. I’ve not been involved in all of it, so the other lads would know better than me how hard it’s been to get to this point.
“I can see what it means to them, how hard they have worked to get here.
“It means everything to me, it’s a huge opportunity. We have never qualified before so to qualify would be brilliant.”
While he rued the fact that Ireland’s dominance at Tallaght Stadium didn’t result in a lead to take over to Israel, Hodge insisted: “It’s definitely a good start for us.
“We know there's another game on Tuesday. We're not getting ahead of ourselves.
“It's only half the job done and we're not ahead so we have to go there and put another good performance in, so I'm ready for that, focused on it.”
Hodge’s career has been stop-start since his impressive showing in Yerevan in 2019.
Then a Manchester City prospect, he suffered with bad injuries, including a back problem before his 2021 loan spell with Derry City could get off the ground.
Now at Wolves, he is ready to put his injury woes behind him.
“It's about three years now since I've played for Ireland through injury and building my way back to fitness,” he said.
“Obviously it's great (to be back). I'm a different player from when I was 16. It was good back then but I have started over and forgotten about that.
“I didn't play anywhere near as many games as I would have liked to, which didn't help me one bit, the lack of games I played.
“But it toughens you up. It's just getting knocked down and going again and going again. I'm fit and playing the best football I have in ages now.”
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