Ireland soccer legend Shay Given said it is his “dream” for the Boys in Green to win a World Cup and is already thinking of qualification for 2026.
The retired shot-stopper was Ireland’s No.1 at the 2002 World Cup, won 134 international caps, and has already had a successful coaching spell.
He will offer expert analysis as RTE kicks off its Qatar World Cup coverage this Sunday – and revealed punditry, not coaching, could be his future.
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Shay (46) left Derby as goalkeeping coach 18 months ago and yesterday admitted his phone is not "ringing off the hook" with coaching offers since.
But he is “enjoying punditry for now” and is delighted to be spending quality family time with his glamorous fiancée and their two children.
He also revealed his ongoing heartache for 10 victims of an explosion in Donegal and claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo (37) has played his last game for Manchester United.
Ireland did not qualify for this year’s tournament, but would be 26th best out of the 32 countries who are there, according to squad value data compiled for Boyle Sports.
Shay told the Irish Mirror: “I will be working for RTE and I’m looking forward to it and the World Cup.
“England will be a team that I will watch. I live in Manchester and I know some of the players.
“There will be interest with Irish fans of teams like Man United and Liverpool, seeing how their players are doing.
“My heart tells me that it could be Messi lifting the World Cup for a fairytale ending at his last World Cup, but my head tells me Brazil.
“It’s been 20 years since Brazil won the World Cup in 2002.
“Could we ever win the World Cup? It’s the stuff of dreams.
“We were there in 2002, reached the last 16, drew 1-1 with Spain after missing a penalty during the match, and ended up losing on penalties.”
Spain were then beaten in the quarter-finals by co-hosts South Korea, who lost to eventual runners-up Germany, who drew 1-1 with Ireland in the group stage.
Shay said: “We were the better team against Spain in extra time. It’s mad to even think of us winning a World Cup.
“But who knows what the future holds. England is a big country but they haven’t won it since 1966.
“I don’t know if Ireland could ever win it, but for now it’s baby steps for us to get to the next World Cup in 2026.
“That’s the next big hurdle – to qualify for a major tournament. Qualification for Euro 2024 starts in March.
“It’s not too far away to think of World Cup 2026. When you miss out on one, you look to the next one.”
If Messi (35) has a chance of silverware with Argentina, Portugal’s Ronaldo has no chance now of winning anything again with Manchester United because of his criticism of the club, according to Shay.
He said: “I think the writing is on the wall for him. It’s the final statement from him. He wants out.
“It’s no secret that he wanted to leave in the summer and now he’s had a go at the manager, had a go at the hierarchy, so I don’t see a way back.
“I don’t think we’ll see him back in a Man United shirt. I don’t know how it could be resolved.
“The timing of the interview, coming at the start of the break for the World Cup, might mean he has something lined up already.
“He is a superstar but, for me, it looks like he has played his final game for Man United, although something could change over the next month.”
Proud Donegal man Shay was devastated by the explosion at Creeslough on October 7 and recently visited the area to be with his sister Michelle, who lives there.
He said: “I’ve been speaking with Michelle regularly. She’s a Pilates teacher and her classes were cancelled for a few weeks, but they are now back.
“It is good, getting people back out of their houses and getting them back to some form of normality because it was such a tragic event.
“You can stay at home, but that can bring its own problems. It’s key to get back out there again and try to get lives back on some sort of track.
“They won’t forget what’s happened and the families will be hurting forever, but it’s key that they try to move on somehow after such a tragedy.”
Shay returns to Ireland again this week to work for RTE and said: “I enjoy the media work.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I left Derby 18 months ago and, to be honest, my phone’s not really ringing off the hook with people asking me to get back into football or coaching.
“I won’t say I’m never going to be a coach again, but I do enjoy doing the TV or radio and then having family time as well. It’s a good balance.”
Data from football analytics website Transmarkt for Boyle Sports calculates that Ireland’s squad is worth €112.50m – more than Canada, Tunisia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica, Qatar and Iran.
England’s squad was valued at €1.26bn – which is €120m more than the second-most valuable side Brazil and over 10 times that of the Irish squad which was used for their last international match.
A spokesperson for Boyle Sports said: “According to squad values, the Ireland squad should be boarding a plane to Qatar.”
Shay was talking as part of Football Betting with Boyle Sports, and you can visit their website here.
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