Dunne still believes he can play on biggest stage

A LASTING image, and one of the very last images, from World Cup 2002.

The Irish squad, having exited the tournament in that dramatic and heartbreaking shoot-out with Spain, are in the departures lounge in Seoul airport. Steve Staunton and Niall Quinn are sitting one seat apart, preparing to board a plane for the final time as members of the Irish squad. On this, the first official day of their retirement, they are cheerfully playing host to a steady stream of well-wishers and fans.

But, sitting between them, and almost completely ignored by the autograph seekers, is another Irish player. It’s a young Richard Dunne, who’d sweated daily on the training pitches of Japan and Korea for the guts of a month, but never got to grace the big stage for even one minute.