Northern Ireland star Shea Charles admits scoring the winner in Southampton’s shock 2-1 FA Cup triumph over Premier League leaders Arsenal was “surreal” – and also took a moment to insist his international team has a “big future” ahead.
Charles, who has developed into a key player for his country and started in both of their recent matches, including a World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Italy, was brought off the bench at St Mary’s on Saturday night with 15 minutes left to play.
It took him less than 10 to make a decisive impact, slotting home a memorable winner as Championship club Saints booked their spot in the last-four at Wembley.
They’re guaranteed to be the only non-Premier League side competing in the semi-finals with Manchester City progressing past Liverpool while Chelsea defeated Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Northern Ireland's Shea Charles celebrates scoring Southampton's winner against Arsenal. (Photo by Glyn KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Northern Ireland's Shea Charles celebrates scoring Southampton's winner against Arsenal. (Photo by Glyn KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
The line-up will be completed by either West Ham United or Leeds United – the top-flight duo meet in the final fixture on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal, who are currently nine points clear at the Premier League’s summit, entered the tie as overwhelming favourites, but were dealt another blow after losing to Man City in the EFL Cup final last time out.
Charles joined Southampton from City in 2023 – the transfer fee could rise to £15million with add-ons – and has made 24 league appearances this term, scoring twice.
The 22-year-old will likely have a key role to play in the coming weeks as Southampton look to seal their Premier League return – they currently sit one point adrift of sixth-placed Wrexham in the race for a play-off position, but have played one match fewer.
Southampton have put together a 15-game unbeaten run across all competitions, dumping top-flight Fulham and Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
Charles was an unused substitute when the Saints defeated Leeds in the 2023/24 Championship play-off final at Wembley under Russell Martin, and having missed out two years ago, he’s determined to play his part this time around.
"It’s surreal,” said Charles told BBC at full-time. “We’ve been to Wembley before but I didn’t play so going now and to play there, it would be unbelievable.
"I got told to come on and try to get hold of the game, try to keep hold of the ball for a bit, which I thought we did ok, but to score is just special.
"I’m not a striker, but when it came to me I thought ‘just try and place it in the corner’ and it went from there.
"It’s really special, these fans deserve it, you can see how loud it is, it’s incredible."
Saturday’s famous win came just over a week on from Charles and his Northern Ireland team-mates suffering World Cup heartbreak in Bergamo, losing out 2-0 to four-time champions Italy.
Charles is part of an exciting young squad continually improving under Michael O’Neill alongside the likes of younger brother Pierce, Conor Bradley and Isaac Price.
Despite recent disappointment, Charles is looking forward to future development, adding: "It was disappointing last week, but we have a big future with Northern Ireland so it’s exciting.”