By Daniel Noble
JOSH Magennis has set his sights on winning 100 caps as he aims to help Northern Ireland qualify for the World Cup.
The 35 year-old striker, who has earned a whopping 86 caps so far, is part of the squad which has travelled to Bergamo to face Italy in the first of a potential two playoff games on Thursday.
Victory would see them advance to face the winners of Wales’ clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they aim to make it to football’s grandest stage for the first time since 1986.
Bangor native Magennis has been plying his trade for EFL League One side Exter City for the past two seasons, having previously played for Wigan Athletic, Hull City and Bolton Wanderers.
He made his Northern Ireland debut against Turkey in 2010, scoring his first international goal in a 3-1 defeat to Greece at Windsor Park in 2015, and has since gone on to stretch his tally to 12 goals for his country.
Now the 10th highest appearance- maker for the national team, a position he shares with Keith Gillespie, Magennis admits his dream is to make it a century.
“I think the motivation for me, whether that’s scoring 15 goals in one season, playing every single minute of every game, is to get to 100 caps,” he said.
“The only way to do that is to perform at Exter and try and do well, but I’m still chasing that, whether I attain that or not, that’s not up to me, but that will always be my
motivation.”
A goalkeeper in his youth
career, Magennis has come a long way from his humble beginnings at local side Braynsburn Rangers, and he added two caps to his total in November’s World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg.
As part of the squad which qualified for the 2016 European Championship, he helped Northern Ireland reach a first major tournament in 30 years.
Almost 10 years on from that memorable summer in France, in which his side reached the round of 16, the imposing centre- forward recognises what a place in the World Cup would mean for his country.
“For Northern Ireland, we haven’t managed to attain that since the 1980s. We have the likes of Jimmy Nicholl, Gerry Armstrong, Pat Jennings, when you see these lads, they always tell you about what it is to play for your country,” he explained.
“Most importantly, it brings the country together. When we were at Euro 2016, all the fan zones, everything was green and white.
“When we came back and the way we were welcomed, it was something I’ve never witnessed before, so it’s not just personally, but together, as a country, it would be unbelievable.”
Now 17 years into a professional football career, when most players are thinking about hanging up the boots, if they have not already done so, Magennis is still willing to give it his all.
He added: “I’m still training as much as the other lads, I’m still contributing as much as the other lads and I’m just making sure that I’m fit and available.
“I think it would be different if I was just hanging on for the sake of hanging on and I was cheating myself or cheating my country. I would never do that, but as long as I’m fit and able, I’ll always make myself available to be selected.”
Northern Ireland face Italy in the New Balance Arena, Bergamo, at 7.45pm on Thursday.
