From Boreham Wood to possibly the World Cup and Lionel Messi - Wales’ Sorba Thomas has come a long way in a short time.
Fourteen months ago Thomas was just another non-league hopeful when Huddersfield signed him from Boreham Wood to begin his remarkable journey. Now the winger is just two games away from going to Qatar with Wales and jokes he thinks it may all just be a dream.
“This is like living FIFA in real life,” he told Mirror Sport. “It’s crazy what’s happened and my friends say to me: ‘In the space of a year, you’ve played for Wales, you’ve won the Championship Player of the Month, you could get promoted with Huddersfield and play at a World Cup’.
“I could end up playing against Lionel Messi. From playing non-league to who knows? Possibly being on the same pitch as Lionel Messi? This is stuff kids dream of. Sometimes I still believe I’m in a massive deep sleep and just dreaming this whole thing.”
Thomas, 23, claims coronavirus has played an unlikely part in his international career and he was due to represent England C against Wales in March 2020 before the pandemic struck. Wales stepped in, alerted by the fact he qualifies for them through his mum Gail, and he won his first two caps against the Czech Republic and Estonia in October.
“I got called up for England C when I was at Boreham Wood, but it was called off because of COVID,” he said. “I think COVID knew I was picking the wrong country!”
Have Your Say! Will Wales qualify for the World Cup? Join the debate here.
Thomas is grateful for the part Boreham Wood have played in his remarkable rise after he was released as a teenager by West Ham, where he was in their academy with Declan Rice.
“I was gutted at the time, but I found my love again for the game at Boreham Wood,” said the East Ender. West Ham releasing me helped because going to Boreham Wood helped me grow up very, very quickly. I had to get a job, the whole experience helped me.”
The last 14 months have been a whirlwind for Thomas and he says meeting his boyhood hero Thierry Henry with Wales in November was a surreal moment: “When we played Belgium with Wales, I remember coming out of the changing room and I bumped into someone. I said sorry and looked up and it was Thierry Henry.
“I just stood there and froze, I didn’t know what to say. He said ‘I’ve heard about you, you’re doing very well in the Championship, keep going’. I remember walking outside, thinking I’ve just spoken to Thierry Henry and he knows who I am! It was just crazy.”
The World Cup is Thomas’ next goal and he says Wales are pumped for Thursday’s play-off semi-final against Austria at the Cardiff City Stadium.
‘It’s a massive moment and it’s fantastic that we’ll be playing in front of our own fans,” he said. “Win that game and we’re through to the play-off final, then we can really start dreaming.”
The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign will make over 100,000 tickets available on a buy-one-get-one-free basis for selected matches as a thank you for over £12.5million of funding provided to community football clubs during the COVID pandemic. To find out more visit www.thenationallotteryfootballweekends.co.uk.
