'I thought I was dreaming!' - Wrexham star Jacob Mendy reacts to shock international call-up & reveals his primary aim as Rob McElhenney sends his congratulations

• Mendy receives maiden Gambia call-up
• Defender was crucial for Wrexham
• Wants to qualify and win AFCON with Gambia

WHAT HAPPENED? The summer is just getting better and better for Mendy as the defender earned his first international call-up for the Gambia as a reward for his performances with Wrexham. The wing-back was absolutely crucial to the Welsh club's historic title win as he scored against promotion rivals Notts County in a slender 3-2 win. The defender did not hide his excitement after being called up for the AFCON qualifier against South Sudan and at the same time vowed to fire Gambia to the finals and win the competition.

WHAT THEY SAID: "My initial reaction was... I couldn't believe it, I thought I was dreaming. I literally found out... one morning I woke up and I saw the message on my phone. Yeah, it was incredible because I couldn't believe it three years ago. That's what football is. Being able to represent your country is one of the proudest things a footballer can ever say. That was definitely my main dream," he told BBC Sport.

"I have a lot of things that I want to complete in football but definitely playing for my country and getting to represent them [is one of them]. I want to take Gambia to the AFCON and obviously try and get to win the AFCON with Gambia."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney was equally excited to see Mendy receiving an international call-up and took to Twitter to congratulate the player.

"Congrats @jacobmendy17!!!!! So well deserved!!!!" he wrote.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? After his trip to Egypt, Mendy will fly to the United States where Wrexham will play a couple of pre-season friendlies against Chelsea in North Carolina and Manchester United in Atlanta.