Heather Payne won’t have to listen enviously to her teammates’ World Cup tales for much longer.
The Ireland forward is with US college side Florida State Seminoles - where she shares a dressing room with players from all over the world.
“I have a couple of teammates who have been on the US team, the Chinese team, Nigerian team and Canadian team,” said the 22-year-old Ballinasloe native.
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“And now we are there, I will see them again and that is absolutely brilliant.”
Payne arguably fulfils the toughest role in Vera Pauw’s side. A natural attacking midfielder, she spearheads the Irish attack, because of her pace and endless energy.
She has just one international goal to her name, but her game is about much more than that.
Think John Aldridge in his early years under Jack Charlton, running the channels and watching on as teammates claimed the headlines.
Payne’s night ended after 66 minutes on Tuesday. She rolled her ankle and made way for goal hero Amber Barrett.
But she was back on the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate with her teammates.
“It is amazing. We have been working so hard in this campaign for so long and now I can’t believe we have actually qualified, it is unbelievable,” she said.
“When Amber scored, I nearly had tears in my eyes. And the last 20 minutes were very nerve-wracking.
“But we have a really solid defence and everybody throws their bodies on the line for everything, so I had a gut feeling when Amber got that goal.”
As for her job in Pauw’s highly-disciplined side, she added: “I have got used to it, more of a working role than anything else but anything I can do to get to a World Cup.”
Payne added: “It is absolutely huge. I talk with my roommates about going to the World Cup, representing your country and I was, ‘you know, I feel we are going to get there’.
“And it is absolutely unreal. Of course, living in America, soccer is so big over there.”
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