It was a moment that caused many Irish people to lose their capacity for rational thought. It was already the kind of high-stakes circumstance where the intensity of emotion overrides everything else, but there was none of that for the man at the centre. Troy Parrott was alert to everything, which was exactly how he scored the goal that meant everything to a nation dreaming of reaching the Fifa World Cup 2026.
“It’s more of a mental thing,” the 24-year-old says now, sitting in a very relaxed mood in his Amsterdam apartment. “It’s just getting in the box and hoping that the ball is going to fall.”
