It is fair to say, as far as a week in football goes, none will come close to the week Brennan Johnson has experienced.
After playing a pivotal role in guiding Nottingham Forest to promotion to the Premier League, he is now part of a Wales team that have qualified for their first World Cup in 64 years, and he is enjoying every minute of it.
“It’s going to be hard to top. It’s been an unbelievable week”
“It still probably hasn’t sunk in. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it”
“It’s everything I wanted at the start of last season. To be in the Premier League and to go to a major tournament, hopefully I can do both.”
The scenes after the game where the players sang Yma o Hyd and then went on to party the night away at Gareth Bale’s Elevens Bar will live long in the memory of the Forest striker.
“Those scenes at the end were unbelievable. It showed how much it meant to everyone, especially the players who’ve been here a while.”
Johnson spoke about his earliest memories of the World Cup, where he says he watched every game of the 2010 tournament held in South Africa.
To now being on the cusp of playing in the world’s biggest tournament is something he is relishing.
“It means a lot to me. The World Cup is another level. You think of the World Cup, and you think of the elite countries in the world, and we want to be a part of it”
“For me, it’s a dream come true. You watch the World Cup growing up and to be part of that is something I can’t really believe.”
After qualifying for Qatar, a lot of attention has been focused on the future of Gareth Bale. For Johnson and many Wales fans, Bale is a role model, and to be up and close with someone who oozes greatness and class is something that is certainly rubbing off on the young forward.
“He’s such a good player and I pick up little things training him with him daily from every session”
“When I’m on the bench I’m watching little things he does in games. The way he gets past people is something I want to do in my game.”
Wales’ next match will be at home to the Netherlands in the Nations League. The match will take place in the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday, with kick off at 19:45.
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