Caoimhín Kelleher: We put pressure on ourselves to qualify for a major tournament

All Caoimhin Kelleher is doing is 'staying calm' as he gets ready for the biggest game of his life with the Republic of Ireland on Sunday as a win over Hungary in Budapest will put the team through to the play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The scenario is simple, and everything was set up by a dramatic 2-0 victory over Portugal last Thursday in Dublin. That result brought the entire country to its feet, as the nation dreamed of going to the United States next summer.

Kelleher heard the noise and immediately bowed his head, with the goalkeeper focusing on the challenge of facing Hungary in Budapest.

“I think you need to stay calm and you need to be focused because there’s still a game to be played and we haven’t done anything yet,” he told The Echo.

We haven’t qualified for anything yet. 

"You need to use it [the excitement] in the right way. For sure, it gives us a boost seeing how big of a win that was and how the whole country gets behind you and like you said, everyone wants to get tickets and flights to Budapest.

“It definitely gives us a boost and our motivation is to give those fans a great night.” 

The players still smiling from the victory over Portugal courtesy of a first-half Troy Parrott brace.

Along with Kelleher, Cork were represented by Chiedozie Ogbene, Jake O’Brien and Adam Idah.

The win came from a team performance, and Kelleher believes it was a long time coming after so many near misses in recent years.

“It was a big occasion for us as a team – I think we were due a big win for us as a team,” he looked back on Thursday.

“We were due a big victory like that and for a while now. All that does is set it up for us on Sunday. We enjoyed the victory but pretty soon after our attention turned to this game and how important it is to us. All that matters for us is Sunday.” 

The goalkeeper has only one thing on his mind, and the intensity was only sharpened by the Portugal result.

I think we were due one for a while now and it all came together on Thursday night and that will give us a lot of confidence for Sunday.

“When you get a big win like that it gives everyone a big boost and it fills the whole team with a lot of confidence. We’ll go onto Sunday now ready and prepared.” 

PRESSURE

Kelleher also knows the state of play in the opposition dressing room, as Hungary have not qualified for a World Cup since Mexico in 1986.

“It has been quite a while for them as well since they last qualified for a World Cup,” Kelleher said.

“It’s going to be a lot of pressure on them and their home fans are going to come to the game expecting them to go through. Listen, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We really rate ourselves and put pressure on ourselves to qualify for a major tournament. 

"It’s going to be pressure on both teams.”