I'm not saying it wouldn't have happened if I'd come to Anfield then (1997), but I always held out hope that I'd come back and this is a real dream come true for me.

As a kid growing up in the back streets of Dublin I used to pretend I was playing in the World Cup with my mates out on the streets, and now I will be doing it for real.

Sometimes, you need different things in life, you need different challenges that will give you that little boost.

A Rod: An attractively painted length of fiberglass that keeps an angler from ever getting too close to a fish.

At Leeds I've tried to concentrate on my club form, but you get caught up in all the World Cup fever once you come back to Ireland and see all the Irish boys again.

With all due respect, I have nothing to prove about my worth to anyone.

Qualifying for the second stage would be a successful World Cup for us. I think we can do it.