Quinn believes sparks may fly

Niall Quinn believes ‘‘a few sparks might fly’’ in his benefit match tonight - but not to the extent the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup hopes will be damaged.

Losing important players to reckless injuries is the kind of scenario Republic boss Mick McCarthy must be dreading as he finalises his squad’s preparations for their assault on the World Cup.

Those preparations begin tonight when Quinn’s Sunderland take on McCarthy’s Irish at the Stadium of Light for a game being dubbed ‘A Night with Niall’, and which is expected to raise €1.6m euro for children’s charities.

Part of what is a unique event includes the sale of non-attendance tickets in order to boost funds, with hospitals in Sunderland and Dublin benefiting from the generosity of the 35-year-old striker.

Quinn also believes such generosity will figure on the pitch as well, although he feels one or two key rivalries will ensure the match is not a tame affair.

‘‘The World Cup starts here and I think we’ll have a good game of football,’’ said Quinn, who has spent the last six years with Sunderland and who has represented his country since 1986.

‘‘But I don’t think Mick will want to see players topping one another and stuff like that, although at the same time I think he will want to see us get competitive and get the ball rolling.

‘‘But ask any of the Sunderland players, if one of them is marking Roy Keane then they will want to do well, and with Michael Gray marking Jason McAteer then a few sparks might fly.’’

There had been hopes for a 48,000 full house at the Stadium of Light, but such has been Sunderland’s poor season just 30,000 tickets have been sold, including 6,000 making their way across the Irish Sea.

But Quinn is just delighted to be in a position to say thank you to all the fans who have supported him over the seasons as he added: ‘‘To be honest, I’ve been so fortunate.

‘‘To be around just as the good times started with Ireland in the late 1980s, and to still be one of the few who has managed to stay right through it all, I just feel very honoured and very lucky.

‘‘I haven’t quite worked out who I’m starting for yet, but I hope to play maybe 20 minutes for each team.

‘‘I want to wear both jerseys to thank the people from both regions - Ireland fans for 16 years of fantastic times and Sunderland for giving me the career that I’ve had here.

‘‘To think that when I came here at 30 years of age and with a crocked leg, how they have stayed loyal to me and with me. I can’t understand how they’ve put up with me to be honest, so I want to thank them as well. It’s a great opportunity to do so.’’

Only Thomas Sorensen and Claudio Reyna are unavailable for Sunderland as they have now linked up with the Denmark and United States World Cup squads respectively.

As well as Quinn, McCarthy has the other 22 members of his squad available, and is planning to field a team in each half, mindful of the fact Ireland play Nigeria at Lansdowne Road on Thursday.