From north London to North Korea, there hasn’t been a dull moment in the life of Cardiff City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
The 27-year-old has had been a busy man during his international career with the Philippines and now the stopper faces a completely different test this weekend – attempting to keep out Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup fourth round.
The Premier League big-hitters will descend upon the Welsh capital this Sunday and Etheridge knows he will have to be at his very best if the Bluebirds are to pull off a shock result.
He said: “Everyone’s excited. We heard it’s going to be a sell-out stadium which I guess we expected playing against the Premier League leaders. Everyone is looking forward to it.”“We’re in a situation where it’s going well in the league and this is a chance to show what we’re made of. We know it’s going to be tough.
“They’ve scored the most amount of goals in English football but we have a very strong defensive unit at Cardiff and hopefully, that’s no different against City.
“We haven’t conceded too many goals this season. But we will be trying to play as much football as we can. We’ll try and shut up shop which won’t be easy but we’re confident we can do it.
“There’s not many teams that have found it easy against City this season!”
During his career, which has seen him have spells with the likes of Fulham, Charlton and Walsall, Etheridge has never progressed past this stage of the world’s original cup competition but that hasn’t stopped the goalkeeper from dreaming big.
He said: “I’ve never been beyond the fourth round! But I want to change that. I have some great memories of the competition.
“I’ve played in the cup with Walsall and Charlton. You’ve seen so many upsets over the years and hopefully, we can add to that at the weekend.”
Etheridge has had many unique experiences turning out for the Philippines, none other than facing North Korea in Pyongyang.
There’s a great pride that fills Etheridge, who was born in London but qualifies through his mother Merlinda Dula, every time he turns out for the Philippines and has loved help grow the game in the nation.
“North Korea was a brilliant experience,” Etheridge said. “We didn’t get an awful lot of it. We did stay in our hotel the majority of the time.
“It’s a different sort of atmosphere when we played there. To play against a country like that, it’s a unique experience.
“Philippines is a country that is developing all the time in the footballing world. It’s pretty much like a cup final every single time we play because the pressure of the games we.
“We really want to succeed as a nation and put the country on the footballing map.”
Emirates FA Cup history
Cardiff City’s only FA Cup success came way back in 1927 when they defeated Arsenal thanks to a strike from Hughie Ferguson.
The Bluebirds best outing in recent times came in the 2007-08 season when they reached the Final – losing 1-0 to Portsmouth.
Manchester City are five-time winners of the competition, last hoisting the trophy in 2011 when a Yaya Toure strike was enough to down Stoke City at Wembley.
Did you know?
Cardiff’s success in the 1927 FA Cup was the only time in the history of the tournament that the trophy has been won by a side outside of England.
The prize
The winner of Sunday’s tie will earn £90,000 and a place in the fifth round.
