Millenic Alli was not a name on the radar of many fans when it came to a possible call-up to a Republic of Ireland squad, despite being a Championship footballer.
At the age of 26, he has received a first senior nod without ever featuring for his country at any level during his career.
So who is the newest winger set to don the green shirt?
Alli was born in Dublin and began his youth career at Esker Celtic, before moving on to St Francis.
In a period before joining a League of Ireland was an obvious next step for a youngster, he took the unusual route of joining Bury FC as a 14-year-old.
Portsmouth winger Millenic Alli has received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad 🇮🇪
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 29, 2026
The 26-year-old joined up with the team this morning at the FAI National Training Centre 🤝
Welcome to the squad, @millenic_alli 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EgKluIg2Pa
They were competing between the third and fourth tier of English football at the time, with the northern club set for major financial issues in the coming seasons.
Having failed to make a breakthrough at Gigg Lane, Alli made his debut in senior football with South Shields and had loan spells with Workington in the same campaign and the following year in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh rung of England's pyramid.
Alli continued to journey around the non-league system, with Ashton United and then the reformed Stockport County who were on their way back towards the Football League.
A loan spell at Chorley aged 21 proved successful when being unable to get into the Stockport reckoning.
The end of his contract at County allowed FC Halifax to pounce and it was from here where Alli made real strides.
In the 18-month period at the club he bagged 18 goals in 47 games, with lots of eyes on him by the time the 2024 January transfer window arrived. He featured in their FA Trophy win at Wembley and attracted plenty of interest in the leagues above.
Fan-owned Exeter City were the successful bidders, giving Alli a two and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee and the chance to prove himself at a much higher level.
The now 23-year-old finally made his Football League bow with the Grecians and what an impact he had.
Within a year Alli left League One behind with Luton Town paying £1.5m for Alli’s services.
A total of 16 goals in 43 matches was enough for the Championship side to splash out on the Dubliner.
It capped a staggering rise through the levels, in essence going from non-league to the second tier in a 12-month period.
Town were struggling for goals and on a downward trajectory as part of what would prove to be back-to-back relegations.
Alli did score four times in 16 Championship appearances but was unable to help the Hatters stay up as they dropped back to League One.
While Alli didn’t start this campaign well, his form of previous years encouraged Championship side Portsmouth to bring him in on loan three months ago for the rest of the campaign.
It would be unusual for a Championship team to recruit a League 1 player, but perhaps it showed their faith in him to do so.
He scored against West Brom in his fourth appearance and has played every fixture since.
The winger will be a key part of their battle for survival with Pompey one point above the drop zone.
That can wait, however, with Alli now in with a chance of an Ireland debut on Tuesday night against North Macedonia after undoubtedly doing it the hard way and proving that hard work does indeed pay off.
Still just 26, he has the opportunity to force his way into Heimir Hallgrimsson's plans for the summer friendly matches, the Nations League and qualification matches for Euro 2028 as the nation looks to move on from World Cup heartbreak with a fresh face in the squad.
