Wigan Athletic starlet James Carragher did more than come home from the international break with two caps for Malta - he also made sure he returned with a shirt from one of the best players of his generation!
Carragher made full use of his newly-acquired Malta passport with starts against Finland and Poland in qualification for World Cup '26.
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In the second of those, that meant a head-to-head against Barcelona hot-shot Robert Lewandowski, who came on for Poland with 20 minutes remaining.
But how was the experience of a lifetime?
"He was good," assessed Carragher. "He's getting on a bit now, so I don't think he caused me any problems running in behind. I was just gutted that he didn't start, because even if he'd got the better of me, I would have loved the experience of playing against him.
"Given he's 35, 36...I'm probably never going to play against him again, so when he came on for the last 20 minutes, I just wanted to come up against him. Even if he'd have got past me, I just wanted to test myself, but he kept coming short for it.
"His touch was still there, he was still getting in the box trying to score, but he didn't cause us any problems in behind. But he's been one of the best strikers of the last 10-15 years, so I'm just made up to have played against him and got his shirt."
Ah the shirt...which would have been coveted by every single one of the Maltese XI.
So how did it end up in the possession of the Latics Academy graduate?
"We went down to 10 men with about two minutes to go, and I've seen him walk towards me," said Carragher. "And I've gone 'can I get your shirt?', and he's gone 'we'll do it inside'. I could see there were about seven or eight players waiting inside for him, and I just got in front of them and got it done.
"A few of the lads weren't happy, but who cares...I won't be seeing them again for a few months...I've got the shirt and that's it! But I'm buzzing, it's something I'll get framed - along with my own shirt from the first game - and be proud of in years to come."
Not that it's the first famous short to come into the possession of the Carragher family - given James' dad Jamie's long and distinguished career with Liverpool and England.
"There's a big box in our house with loads of different shirts of players he played against," added James. "I used to look through them when I was a kid, and I remember always asking him when he'd go away for a game to get me so-and-so's shirt, and he always did. Now it's his turn to be asking me, and I've got a couple of cousins as well who I know will be asking me for shirts as well!"
As to the language difficulties, being away with Malta?
"All the lads spoke Italian, so I needed a translator at times, or a couple of the lads who spoke English," he added. "For the anthem, not really, I need to learn it...maybe for June I'll be able to sing a few words!"
Related topics:MaltaPolandFinlandBarcelona
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