Troy Parrott is in pole position to lead the line in the Republic of Ireland's clash against Portugal at Aviva Stadium tonight, with the Dubliner relishing the prospect of featuring from the start.
Parrott has already racked up 31 appearances for the Boys in Green since making his debut in a 3-1 win over New Zealand as a callow 17-year-old in 2019. However, many of those subsequent caps were won off the bench.
Adam Idah and Johnny Kenny are alternatives manager Heimir Hallgrimmson could deploy up top in the wake of Evan Ferguson's injury-enforced absence, but Parrott's 13 goals in 14 appearances for AZ Alkmaar mean he's virtually certain to get the nod, even if the 23-year-old was taking nothing for granted.
"I don't know," Parrott told RTÉ Sport of his starting prospects. "I hope I do, but I still don't know if I will.
"It's a completely different feeling if you're starting, to being on the bench.
"It's a lot more exciting when you're starting and you know you have more time on the pitch to make an impact."
Parrott's scintillating club form this term means he could well have hoped to have made that impact before this critical juncture, but a knee injury intervened at the most inopportune of times. Having scored three goals in his first two matches of the Dutch season heading into the September double-header against Hungary and Armenia, he was then sidelined for six weeks by the problem.
A hard-fought but somewhat fortuitous 2-2 draw against Hungary and a crushing 2-1 loss to Armenia didn't make for pretty viewing for any Irish onlookers, least of all for the sidelined Parrott.
"It was hard to watch," he candidly admitted. "I think against Hungary we did all we could after a bit of a bad start.
"I think the biggest disappointment, for me looking on, was the result against Armenia.
"I think it was disappointing for all of us. But, look, things happen. It's happened now, there's nothing we can do, we can't go back and change it, so it's about looking forward to these two games that are coming up and trying to do the best that we can."
It's 24 years since Jason McAteer fired Ireland to a 1-0 World Cup qualifier win over the Netherlands in Dublin and 10 years since the national team shocked World Cup holders Germany in a Euro 2016 qualifier, with Shane Long ensuring the home team prevailed on the same scoreline.
Defeating Portugal would rank up there with those famously unlikely upsets, but what is exactly required of Hallgrimsson's charges in Group F to remain in the reckoning for qualification for next year's finals is uncertain.
Illumination will be provided by the fact that Hungary travel to Yerevan to face Armenia earlier in the day. Victory for the visitors would leave Ireland needing a bare minimum of four points from the games against Portugal and Hungary, while a draw would mean three points might be enough. A win for Armenia would blow the race for second place wide open.
"It's not an ideal situation that we're in," Parrott conceded. "For all of us in the country, we'd all like to be in a better position than we're in now.
"But as I said before, we're in the position that we're in. It's a little bit exciting, in a way, to see what's going to happen and what way it's all going to work out.
"We still have a chance and we have to go for it."
Parrott has notched five goals during his international career, but is acutely aware that a sixth against Roberto Martinez's side would be his most significant to date.
"I've scored some good goals, but none that would be as meaningful as if one went in against Portugal," he said.
"It's exciting. We get to play against a top team at home and go out and try and give the best account of ourselves to go out and give ourselves a good chance."
Parrott's international manager has previously suggested that Ireland shirts are "too heavy" for some of his players to carry. The Icelander said in 2024: "It feels like the jersey is too heavy for some players. When they put them on, they don't show the same quality as they do maybe in their clubs."
It's a theory for underperformance lost on Parrott, who insisted: "I feel alive every time I play. There's nothing like going out there in the Aviva and putting on the shirt and playing.
"It's a special feeling, so I wouldn't say, for me, it ever feels heavy.
"It's a huge honour and there is a lot of pride in it."
Parrott's prodigious talent was recognised at an early age, but his Tottenham career and the loan spells which punctuated it largely featured a series of false dawns. His move to the Eredivisie has undoubtedly acted as a catalyst for his own ambitions in the game.
"I feel like I've been about for years, because I started so young," he reflected.
"But I think now I'm really coming into my stride of being consistent in the performances, and the goalscoring, and just playing well all round, and building myself up as a better player and as a stronger player.
"I feel like the sky's the limit now."
Parrott's path in the game highlights that there is more to club life than the Premier League. And when pressed on whether a return in the future to the top of the English football pyramid was a move that would prove too alluring to resist he said: "Honestly, I don't know. This is where I've also changed a little bit, where I'm not focussed on what's going to happen in the future. I'm letting that be.
"I believe whatever is going to happen is going to happen.
"If I keep doing what I'm doing and working hard enough, and playing well enough, then as I've said before, the sky is the limit.
"I'm feeling good, I'm feeling sharp, I'm feeling fit and I'm feeling very confident."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Portugal in World Cup qualifying on Thursday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
Watch Hungary v Republic of Ireland in World Cup qualifying on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
