Bohemians' London-born, Irish-raised winger Ayman Ben Mohamed has said he's facing "one of the biggest challenges" of his career after being called into Tunisia's African Cup of Nations squad.
He was invited by Noel King to train with the Republic of Ireland U21s last year but now looks set to represent the country of his father's birth after former Belgium manager Georges Leekens took a punt on the 21-year-old ahead of their qualifier clash with Djibouti on 3 June.
Ben Mohamed admitted he was blown away the call-up. "Nobody saw it coming," he told the club's website. "I’ve had lots of relatives on congratulating me – it’s huge for me and my family.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced in football. I’ll be training and competing with players from the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga.
“That is an incredible opportunity for me and it is good for the profile of the club and league too. It shows we have a good stage here to develop.”
The Gypsies host Galway United in the FAI Cup tonight [7.45pm], some respite from a rocky league campaign that sees them third from bottom.
Ben Mohamed has been a shining light for Keith Long however, and the manager showered praise on the attacker.
"He’s been a real breath of fresh air and I’m delighted for him," said Long.
“He’s a real throwback to an old-school winger. He loves to take players on and he has a bit of pace about him too.
Long - and Ben Mohhamed's - attentions for now are solely trained on Galway, with Bohs in desperate need of a morale-boosting win.
“It’s hugely important and it’s a game we have to win. It’s the only all-Premier Division tie of the round against a good Galway team, who have already beaten us this season.
“It will be a tough game but we are the home team and we are expected to win."
