Ireland arrive in Niigata for World Cup opener

Ireland’s 22-man World Cup squad has arrived in the Japanese city of Niigata ahead of their opening game against African champions Cameroon tomorrow.

The focus of this morning’s training session will be midfielder Jason McAteer, who is hoping to win a place in the starting line-up despite fears over a knee injury.

Manager Mick McCarthy is not expected to name his starting 11 until shortly before kick-off at 12.30pm Irish time tomorrow, with speculation mounting that Gary Breen will be chosen to partner captain Steve Staunton at the heart of the defence.