Adam Idah grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and has already laid claim to his shirt on Wednesday night.
Manchester United’s new recruit is bidding to set a world record by becoming international football’s record scorer.
He needs one more goal to move past Iranian legend Ali Daei on 109 but Ireland are determined to put those celebrations on hold.
“Everyone is looking forward to the game and once you have a player like Ronaldo playing, it’s exciting,” said Idah, the Norwich City and Ireland striker.
“He was my favourite player (growing up). Just the way he carries himself, I think he has an unbelievable attitude and a great work ethic.
“What he does on the pitch is amazing and his goal scoring is just outrageous. He’s one of the best for me.”
Corkman Idah, 20, has travelled to Faro to collect World Cup qualifying points rather than souvenirs.
But he claims to have sorted Ronaldo’s shirt for afterwards and said with a smile: “I’ve already got in there. I’ve got a couple of contacts.”
Ireland are on a taxing World Cup rescue mission after losing both their opening games in March to Serbia and Luxembourg.
Stephen Kenny needs a healthy points return from this triple-header against Portugal, Azerbaijan and Serbia to keep his critics at bay.
And Idah has set a high bar, declaring: “We’re going out there for nine points. Portugal are a top-class team but the main thing for us is to keep working hard.”
He added: “We’re all excited to play the best teams and players in the world. That’s why you want to play football. There’s no pressure. Everyone’s excited for the game.”
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