Alex Greive insists he owes his shot at becoming a national hero to St Mirren for taking a punt on an unknown striker from Auckland.
The Buddies forward is currently training with his national team in Spain gearing up for the biggest game of his life, with New Zealand battling Costa Rica on Tuesday, June 12 in Qatar for one of the last two remaining spots at the 2022 World Cup.
Having joined the Saints in January, Greive was quickly called up for national duty and has gone on to earn four caps for his country – scoring twice in the process.
The 23-year-old is now hoping to follow in the footsteps of his All Whites heroes, who he watched beat Bahrain back in 2009 to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when he was just 10.
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Greive is adamant this dream opportunity wouldn’t have happened for him if St Mirren hadn’t taken a chance on bringing him over from Birkenhead United in the middle of last season.
Speaking exclusively from his training camp in Marbella, Greive said: “I wouldn’t be in this camp, preparing for this massive game if I hadn’t signed for St Mirren.
“I owe them a lot because they helped me make it into this team at the perfect time. They put me in contention.
“We’ve got two friendlies, against Peru in Barcelona and then against Oman in Qatar, before we get to the big one against Costa Rica.
“I really want to impress in the next two games because every player wants to be on that pitch against Costa Rica.
“I’m sure I’ll get nervous nearer kick-off but at the moment I’m just excited. It would be such a massive moment for New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup again.
“I was at the play-off game when we last qualified for the World Cup and it was incredible. It was so special and I remember getting the players’ signatures at the parade the following day.
"I remember every single player from that team and I would love to now manage to do the same as a player.
“It would be absolutely epic to go full circle and get that hero status at just 23.”
Greive admits he’d love to also see Scotland end their exile from the biggest stage in world football this week, with Steve Clarke’s men facing Ukraine tomorrow night for a shot at Wales in Cardiff in Sunday’s European play-off final.
While the Tartan Army know a tantalising date with the Auld Enemy awaits in the group stages at Qatar in November, New Zealand would face two recent winners of the tournament in Germany and Spain.
The St Mirren forward would relish the chance to take on the illustrious pair in front of the watching world.
Greive added: ”I’d love to see Scotland qualify and I think they can do it. They’ve got a very good team with some brilliant players.
“I always keep an eye on Scotland’s results, especially as it’s pretty much my second home now!
“Our group couldn’t be much tougher if we do make it with Germany, Spain and Japan.
“Coming from New Zealand, you don’t get to play big names and players like that very often.
“We wouldn’t be intimidated though.
“We love being the underdogs and we would give it everything we’ve got.
“One of my brothers is going to be at the Costa Rica game with a few of his mates and I’m going back home to New Zealand after it to see my parents.
“Hopefully we have something pretty special to celebrate by then.”
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