Clock ticking on Japan hopefuls

The Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup will be known next Tuesday morning when manager Mick McCarthy reveals his final list of 23 players. A press conference will be held at the Dublin Airport hotel and for a small number of Irish players, it will mark the end of weeks of uncertainty.

Though McCarthy is unlikely to spring any surprises, and at least 17 of those places are sealed, the remaining six places are still the cause of some debate.

The names announced on Tuesday will also be involved in the two final warm-up games. The squad will travel to the Stadium of Light the following Tuesday, May 14th, for the Niall Quinn Testimonial against Sunderland.

Two days later they play Nigeria in a friendly at Lansdowne Road, and then set out the next day, May 17th, for Japan.

Richard Dunne, Lee Carsley, David Connolly and Mark Kennedy are four players most likely to receive good news ahead of Tuesday's announcement, although injury concerns still linger over Kennedy, who was unable to play in his club Wolverhampton's Division One play-off games gainst Norwich over the last week.

Six other players seem to be in the running for the final two places, with Clinton Morrison and Andy O'Brien thought to be favourites, and the other hopefuls being Colin Healy, Steven Reid, Rory Delap and Gary Doherty.

The full squad will spend the first week acclimatising on the Island of Saipan before moving to Izumo City on May 24th. That will be the base ahead of the opening group E game of the finals against the Cameroon in Niigata on Saturday, June 1st.

From there the squad head to Chiba City and their base for the remaining two group games against Germany at the Ibaraki Stadium (Wednesday, June 5th) and against Saudi Arabia at the Yokohama Stadium (Tuesday, June 11th), which, incidentally, is also the venue for the World Cup final on June 30th.

McCarthy's mind will (briefly) be off football matters tomorrow when he heads the Mick McCarthy Cycling Challenge. The 100km charity cycle is in aid of the Children's Hospital Temple Street, The Children's Medical and Research Foundation, and the St Bernadette's Children's Unit in Galway.

The challenge starts (9.0) and finishes at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham and covers two 50km loops around Dublin city.

Meanwhile, Manchester United's John O'Shea has been called into the Republic of Ireland's under-21 squad by manager Don Givens for the International Festival of Football, which starts tomorrow in Toulon. The Irish play Japan (May 7th), Italy (May 9th), South Africa (May 13th) and Germany (May 15th) in Group B.