Cardiff City full-back Joel Bagan says finally making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland last month was "an amazing experience" for him and his family.

Bagan, born in Basingstoke, qualifies to play for Ireland through his maternal grandparents who are from Cork.

He made his senior international debut coming off the bench against Israel in September, playing the final two minutes.

"To have that moment and to get two appearances was amazing," the 25-year-old said.

"My parents, my girlfriend and my brother came over [for the game].

"It was nice to have them there.

I've got so much to thank my parents for, I wouldn't be in this position today if it wasn't for all the sacrifices they made."

Bagan won eight caps for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s between 2021 and 2022 and admits he did fear his chance of full senior honours had passed him by.

"I had to wait a few years," he added.

"The longer it goes on, you don't forget about it, but you start to think maybe.

"I just had think about playing at Cardiff regularly and trying to perform well.

"But it's something that I've always wanted to to do before I finished my career.

"So to finally get there, it was a big thing."

Ireland go to Austria on 14 November before hosting Kosovo in Dublin three days later in their final two Nations League fixtures still with a chance of securing promotion to League A.

Bagan is targeting more caps with another major tournament on the horizon.

"I've had a taste for it now, I've been once, but I want it to be a more regular thing.

"Hopefully I can get back into the squad for next month

"This is probably the best time to try and stay in the squad with Euro 2028 coming up.

"Hopefully it'll be exciting times ahead."