Very few players can say, ahead of their international debut, that they are just two matches away from reaching the FIFA World Cup.
That's the scenario A-League Men stalwart Jaushua Sotirio finds himself in after accepting a late-career call-up from New Caledonia.
Sotirio has landed in Wellington to link up with his new teammates, eligible to represent New Caledonia through his parents, who were both born in the Pacific nation.
"My great grandfather represented the country back in the 60s, 70s too," he tells AAP.
"I had multiple discussions with the coach about the project and about the opportunity.
"It's a great challenge so I'm just jumping straight into it."
Sotirio was raised in a French-speaking household which would regularly travel from Sydney to Noumea for holidays or to see family.
The forward, who signed for Sydney FC earlier this year, played for Australia at under-20 and under-23 level.
"I'm at the age now where at 29, I'm not gonna get into a Socceroos camp," he said.
"But I also have so much love for New Caledonia."
It might sound fanciful that the country of 300,000 people, ranked No.152 in the world, could be within touching distance of sport's biggest stage.
Thanks to a tweak to FIFA's qualifying process, which grants Oceania a confirmed 2026 place for the first time, Sotirio and his teammates are in with a genuine chance of causing one of sport's biggest boilovers.
They have reached the last four of the OFC qualifying, which concludes this week.
Their semi-final is on Friday afternoon, when they face Francophone rivals Tahiti in a semi-final in the Kiwi capital.
Win that, and New Caledonia heads to a one-match shootout to reach 2026 against either New Zealand or Fiji at Auckland's Eden Park.
Even the losers of that final match get a consolation prize: another chance to progress in an inter-confederation playoff.
The All Whites are huge favourites to progress, bolstered by English Premier League marksman Chris Wood and several talents across Europe's top divisions.
In contrast, Sotirio becomes the best pedigreed New Caledonian player by joining the squad, which is roughly split between local players and those in the French lower leagues.
Captain Cesar Zeoula, 35, is the favourite son, currently with fifth-tier US Chauvigny.
Sotirio said what he'd learned from his teammates so far was they all held the same goal.
"When you're little child playing in the backyard, your dream is always to be involved in the in the biggest competition of all time. That's a World Cup," he said.
"That's always been a dream of mine and hopefully that can come true."
