{"id":362288,"date":"2026-03-24T09:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362288\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T09:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:18:16","slug":"where-are-they-now-irelands-2002-world-cup-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362288\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are they now? Ireland’s 2002 World Cup stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re now very close to Ireland vying for the much-desired place in the FIFA World Cup later in the year.<\/p>\n

Thursday, March 26, sees the Boys in Green take on Czechia at the Fortune Arena for a place in the play-off finals.<\/p>\n

If successful, they will host either Denmark or North Macedonia the following week for a place in the World Cup 2026.<\/p>\n

\"RepublicThe Republic of Ireland team, back row from left, Steve Staunton, Kevin Kilbane, Gary Breen, Ian Harte and Steve Finnan, front row from left, Robbie Keane, Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella, Gary Kelly, Shay Given and Damien Duff, before the FIFA World Cup 2002 Group E match between Saudi Arabia. Pic: David Maher\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

As we wait anxiously for things to play out, and hope and pray that Troy Parrott and the rest of the team can pull it out of the bag, Extra.ie take a look down memory lane.<\/p>\n

The last time Ireland were in the World Cup was in 2002<\/a>, when they headed to Japan under the leadership of Mick McCarthy.<\/p>\n

Despite star midfielder Roy Keane walking out just days before the tournament got underway, the team gave a good account of themselves<\/a>, which subsequently ended in a penalty shootout defeat against Spain in the last 16.<\/p>\n

\"\"The last time Ireland were in the World Cup was in 2002 when they headed to Japan under the leadership of Mick McCarthy. Pic: David Maher \/ SPORTSFILE *EDI*<\/p>\n

But who was the Ireland squad of World Cup 2002, and where are they now?<\/p>\n

GOALIES <\/p>\n

Shay Given was Ireland\u2019s first-choice goalkeeper for the World Cup, and kept the role for more than a decade after. The now-49-year-old had a lengthy career at Premier League level before his retirement in 2016.<\/p>\n

The star made the move to coaching, and was the goalkeeping coach for Derby County before making the switch to punditry. He regularly appears on RT\u00c9<\/a> for punditry duties.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pic: INPHO\/Andrew Paton<\/p>\n

Alan Kelly retired soon after the 2002 World Cup, where he was the back-up goalkeeper. Similarly, he made the foray into coaching first in Soccer-Academy camps in the US before more recently with Everton \u2014 he departed the club in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pic: INPHO\/Billy Stickland<\/p>\n

Dean Kiely was a consistent backup to Given and made 11 appearances over a nine-year period. His final appearance was in 2008.<\/p>\n

Kiely, now 55, has worked as the goalkeeping coach at West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City and Crystal Palace \u2014 the latter he left in July 2025.<\/p>\n

Internationally, he is the current goalkeeping coach for the Republic of Ireland national team.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dean Kiely. Pic: David Maher\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

DEFENCE<\/p>\n

Steve Finnan appeared in all three of Ireland\u2019s group E games in the World Cup, coming face to face with Cameroon, Germany and Saudi Arabia. In the penalties against Spain, Finnan scored, but Ireland lost 3-2.<\/p>\n

The defender had been with Fulham before having a seven-year-long career with Liverpool. He then went to La Liga club Espanyol and finished his club career with Portsmouth.<\/p>\n

Post-football, Steve had a property development business which reportedly went into liquidation in 2020.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steve Finnan. Pic: Matt Browne\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Steve Staunton earned 102 caps for the Irish soccer team and captained the boys in green to the 2002 World Cup knock-out stages.<\/p>\n

Following his career on the field, he went on to managerial work. He was the Irish manager in 2006, and then went on to manage Darlington before moving to Sunderland, where he worked as a scout.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steve Staunton. Pic: INPHO\/Morgan Treacy<\/p>\n

Gary Breen made seven goals during his time with the Republic of Ireland, one of which was against Saudi Arabia during the 2002 World Cup. On club level, he captained Wolves during the 2007-2008 season, and also had a period of time with Barnet as player-coach.<\/p>\n

The former Irish star now dabbles in analysis and is frequently seen on Premier Sports.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gary Breen and Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammad Al Deayea during Ireland v Saudi Arabia 2002. Pic: INPHO\/Tom Honan<\/p>\n

Ian Harte played for the Republic of Ireland until 2007, and finished up his club career with Bournemouth in 2015.<\/p>\n

Ian ventured into agency work<\/a> and was last with Sports Management International (SMI)<\/p>\n

\"\"Ian Harte. Pic: INPHO\/Andrew Paton<\/p>\n

Gary Kelly is the uncle of Harte, who also made the 1994 WC squad. The Drogheda native started all four matches in 2002. He played his whole club career with Leeds, and hung up his boots in 2007.<\/p>\n

Post-football, Gary has raised a significant amount of money for cancer charities.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gary Kelly, left, and Niall Quinn. Pic: David Maher\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Richard Dunne is a regular sports pundit. He was frequently seen on Virgin Media TV, but has most recently been seen on TNT Sports.<\/p>\n

The centre-back from Tallaght made 80 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, and over 500 appearances at club level, lining out for clubs including Manchester City and Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

\"\"Richard Dunne. Pic: INPHO\/Andrew Paton<\/p>\n

Kenny Cunningham didn\u2019t have a major role in 2002, but boasts a stellar career with more than 70 appearances. The Dubliner is a regular feature on RT\u00c9\u2019s soccer coverage. <\/p>\n

\"\"Kenny Cunningham. Pic: Pat Murphy \/ SPORTSFILE<\/p>\n

Midfield<\/p>\n

Matt Holland qualified to play for the Republic via his grandmother from County Monaghan. He scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Portugal in October 2007 to qualify for the 2002 WC, and also equalised against Cameroon in the opening game of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Holland has featured on radio and TV post-football, including RT\u00c9\u2019s Premier Soccer Saturday and the 2010 World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"\"Matt Holland. Pic: INPHO\/Tom Honan<\/p>\n

Kevin Kilbane started all four matches for Ireland\u2019s 2002 World Cup bid, and following that, forged a media career for himself.<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old is an analyst for Virgin Media TV, BBC Radio 5 Live, Newstalk\u2019s Off the Ball, and, more recently, Canada\u2019s The Sports Network.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kevin Kilbane. Pic: INPHO\/Andrew Paton<\/p>\n

Jason McAteer made the foray into management after his retirement as a player. He was assistant manager at Tramere for one season. McAteer now frequently appears on beIN SPORTS as well as LFC TV.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jason McAteer. Pic: \u00a9INPHO\/Billy Stickland<\/p>\n

Steven Reid was Roy Keane\u2019s replacement from World Cup 2002. He retired from international football in 2010 to focus on his club career. <\/p>\n

In 2015, Reid went into coaching and joined Reading. He also worked with Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon for periods throughout the years.<\/p>\n

Most recently, Reid took up the assistant management job at Nottingham Forest, but departed in 2022. He returned as first team coach in 2023 and left again in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steven Reid. Pic: INPHO\/Tom Honan<\/p>\n

Attack<\/p>\n

Damien Duff had 14 years with the Republic of Ireland, picking up 100 caps between 1998 and 2012. He captained the country at UEFA Euro 2012.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Duff went into coaching, starting out with Shamrock Rovers Academy and later Celtic. He then ventured into management and was the assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland in 2020, under Stephen Kenny.<\/p>\n

Duff then joined the League of Ireland, where he was first team manager for Shelbourne up until last June. <\/p>\n

\"\"Damien Duff. Pic: David Maher\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Niall Quinn made appearances for club teams Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland, and during World Cup 2002 was Ireland\u2019s record goal-scorer.<\/p>\n

The striker went on to become the chairperson of Sunderland, as well as the interim CEO of the FAI \u2013 which he has since stepped down from. <\/p>\n

Now, Niall is a well-known pundit and often seen sharing his expertise on Virgin Media.<\/p>\n

\"\"Niall Quinn. Pic: David Maher\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Robbie Keane has continued his stellar career on the pitch with a stellar career on the sidelines, and has been a football manager since 2018, starting out with Indian club ATK as a player-manager.<\/p>\n

Last year, the 45-year-old led his team, Ferencvaros, to the top of the Hungarian league<\/a>. The victory came following a similar sentiment to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League the year before.<\/p>\n

\"\"Robbie Keane. Pic: INPHO\/Lorraine O\u2019Sullivan<\/p>\n

Clinton Morrison is a popular sports pundit, regularly appearing on Sky Sports. As well as 36 appearances for Ireland, Morrison played for Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, Exeter City and more. <\/p>\n

\"\"Clinton Morrison. Pic: INPHO\/Tom Honan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re now very close to Ireland vying for the much-desired place in the FIFA World Cup later in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-362288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}