Richard Dunne has been waiting ten years to take centre stage in a major international tournament.
The Aston Villa stopper was in Mick McCarthy’s squad at the 2002 World Cup but had to watch the action from the bench as Spain knocked the Irish out in a penalty shoot-out for a place in the last eight.
No-one has fought harder that Dunne to reach the European Championships with his performance alongside Darren O’Dea in Moscow one of the greatest ever international displays.
The sight of Dunne’s face bouncing off the running track won’t be forgotten in a hurry with a physio scribbling his number onto the back of a plain shirt to allow him to get back on the park to secure the goal-less draw that kept qualification alive.
Dunne has fully recovered from a fractured collarbone and after coming through last night’s friendly with Hungary can’t wait to face up to Croatia on Sunday.
“I can’t wait,” he admitted. “They are the biggest games of all of our lives, probably.
“We are a week away. We have been preparing now for two and a bit weeks and we are just really keen to get going.
“I am really confident about how strong we are and if things go our way as far as luck is, we can definitely give everyone a test and make it a tough challenge for everyone else in the group.
“Hungary were very good, so it was a good test. It was important for us not to lose and not to get any injuries, and we came through that well.
“John O’Shea looked so good and like he had not missed anything, so it’s good to know that next week, everyone is fit and raring to go.”
Shay Given was replaced at half-time by Keiren Westwood but is fully fit for the Croatia match.
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