Ireland's Josh Cullen has admitted that he is not losing much sleep over the fact that he has played over 39 times for his country but never found the back of the net.
Ireland takes on England today in the final Nations League game of the campaign.
Heimir Hallgrimsson's side has avoided relegation to League C by finishing third and now awaits a March play-off next year.
England, on the other hand, has effectively been promoted to League A after topping their Nations League group.
Cullen will be tasked with duties in midfield, and his partner is expected to be Jayson Molumby after Jason Knight was ruled out on Saturday.
Since making his debut for Ireland in 2019, Cullen has never found the back of the net in 39 appearances; tomorrow will be his 40th.
When asked if he would like to score his first Ireland goal sooner rather than later, Cullen responded, “Every player likes to score goals, but there are a lot of other roles and responsibilities in the team,” he said. “I wouldn't say it's something I'm losing sleep about.
“It would be nice, but if I can contribute with a goal, an assist, or any other action that will help us get a result, that's what I'm going to do.
“Any time we pull on the jersey, we want to win; it means everything.”
Josh Cullen speaks to the media. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images) )Cullen wasn’t part of the playing squad when Ireland lost 3-0 at Wembley in the behind-closed-doors game in November 2020.
He explained that he is now glad to be a full, established member of the squad after being draughted in at that time.
“I remember meeting the team at the hotel literally straight after the last game. I was at Anderlecht at the time, so I got the train across. I was really happy to be brought into the squad and just wanted to make sure I stayed there.
“Thankfully, I’ve managed to play a decent amount of games since then and be part of the squad, and hopefully will be so for a long time as well.”
The Southend-on-Sea-born midfielder admitted that it was nice back then, but the new challenge to come is now of more importance.
Not many of the Ireland squad know what it is like to win at Wembley. However, Cullen's last win at Wembley was with Charlton Athletic when they beat Sunderland 2-1 in the League One play-off final in 2019.
“It was a while ago now, but obviously great memories are coming back—not on the international stage, but at club level having won a game here,” said Cullen last night.
“It’s nice coming back, but when kick-off comes, that all goes out the window as it’s a new game and a new occasion.”
The Burnley talent was also asked what had changed since he made his debut in 2019. He believes that the Irish side is in a much stronger place now because of the experiences they have been through.
Josh Cullen of the Republic of Ireland in Piraeus, Greece. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)Cullen said: “We could probably sit here for hours talking about everything that's changed and everything we've tried to work on.
“But I think we’re in a much stronger place than we were then. It was a very young side that's had a few years to develop now.
“We’re trying to focus on being a hard team to beat, first and foremost, and it was good to get a clean sheet against Finland.
“We're in a good place, and I'm confident about tomorrow night.”
When asked to expand on what he meant, Cullen didn’t go into further detail but briefly said that the message under Hallgrimsson was much clearer now than before. The Ireland players now believe they can carry those messages onto the pitch.
“I’m not going to go too much into tactics and where we’re at as a team.
“But the coaches and management are delivering really clear messages to us as players, where we feel we can go and carry it out on the pitch.
“As a team, we’re confident, and on the back of a good result, it always helps breed that confidence.”
Ireland play England at 5pm later today.
