MICK McCARTHY is ready to answer one of the more pertinent questions in Irish football by naming Roy Keane in his squad for the opening World Cup game in Liechtenstein on August 31st.

Keane will be included in the record number of 32 players being summoned to Dublin on August 25th, at the start of a six day build up to the match.

As yet, however, there is no guarantee if he will be in the reduced squad of 20 to travel to Vaduz the following Thursday for the second meeting of the countries in just over a year. That, almost certainly, depends on the explanation he will offer for his failure to respond to an invitation to captain the improvised squad which travelled to the United States at the end of the season.

McCarthy confirmed yesterday that he has not been in contact with the player since and to that extent, he is still uncertain about the Manchester United player's plans for the international season.

Keane, who has not played for Ireland since being given a one game suspension by the FAI for his sending off in the 2-0 defeat by Russia at Lansdowne Road in March, was not available for comment yesterday.

Keane's nomination apart, the most notable feature of the squad will be the promotion of Jon, Goodman, the Wimbledon forward, whose eligibility to play for Ireland was only established in the last couple of months.

Goodman, born in London of Irish ancestry, formerly played for McCarthy during his term as manager or Millwall. Later, he moved to Wimbledon with Ken Cunningham in a package deal worth £1.3 million.

Injury kept him out of the side for much of the opening phase of last season but he proved that his form had suffered only marginally during that lay off, with an impressive burst of scoring on his return to the team.

"Jon is a strong, aggressive runner with sharp reflexes and I was impressed with his attitude during my time at Millwall," said McCarthy.

"At that point, I wasn't aware of his Irish connections but as soon as they had been clarified, I began to take an interest. Ideally, I would like to have taken him with me to the US for the tour games but it's a good time to include him at the start of a new World Cup campaign."

Explaining his decision to summon 32 players to Dublin, he said: "I want to involve everybody in the squad at this point and assure them that there are places to be won if they are playing well enough.

"Those who are left out of the squad when it is reduced to 20, will have the option of staying on in Dublin or returning to their clubs, but even if they are not invited to go to Liechtenstein, they can still benefit from the experience."

McCarthy's squad for his first competitive fixture will be a blend of youth and experience but at this point, he is not prepared to speculate on the chances of young players of the quality of Shay Given, Gary Breen, Keith O'Neill and David Connolly getting into the travelling party for Vaduz.

Neither is he forthcoming on the contribution to be made by some of his senior players, but the certainty is that it will include Paul McGrath now in line for a record breaking 83rd international appearance.