Winger James McClean is hoping to extend his international goal-scoring run when the Republic of Ireland take on Austria in a World Cup qualifier next Sunday.
Ireland welcome Austria to the Aviva Stadium for a game which could go a long way to deciding who will qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Martin O’Neill’s side prepared for that clash with an impressive 3-1 victory over Uruguay last night with McClean getting on the scoresheet.
The West Brom midfielder was a second-half substitute and made an immediate impact with his aggressive running and used his pace to great effect in scoring Ireland’s third goal.
With 13 minutes remaining McClean skipped past his marker and drove into the box before thumping a low drive across goalkeeper Esteban Conde and inside the far post.
The goal was remarkably similar to the one he scored against Austria in November which proved to be the winner in that game and he’s hoping to repeat the feat on Sunday.
"It’s nice to score goals, hopefully I can get one again next Sunday if I’m playing," he told RTÉ Sport. "It’d be brilliant to score next Sunday, that’s the one that matters."
McClean believes that the Uruguay game and last week’s clash with Mexico in New Jersey was just what the doctor order and helped the squad to get back to match fitness after the end of the club season.
"This game and the Mexico game they’re just about getting a bit of sharpness and match-time after the break, the big one is the next one and this win gives us a wee bit of confidence going into it," he said.
"You want everyone chomping at the bit ready to play. The confidence is always been good to be fair, we’ve got a great bunch of lads here to be fair and when everyone’s in everyone just buzzes off each other and it’s good.
"We know what we have to do on Sunday and we’re looking forward to it.
"Coming off the back of a game like that, you’re buoyed, you’re feeling well and you just want to go again straight away," he added.
"We’ll prepare like the professionals we are, we’ll leave no stone unturned and we’re looking forward to it."
