It was dry and relatively mild as the squad set down in Belgrade, but the treacherous conditions underfoot when McCarthy took his players for a training session, exactly 12 hours after their Whitehall stint, testified to the amount of rain here in recent days.
McCarthy hopes to announce his team after a training session this afternoon, but that depends, to a large degree, on the latest fitness reports from Kinsella and Breen.
He was adamant after the session that Kinsella would be available, and even though Breen took only a limited part in both morning and evening workouts, he, too, should be cleared.
In that situation, the shrewd money is on the Coventry player partnering Kenny Cunningham in central defence, with Jeff Kenna and Denis Irwin at full back and Steve Staunton on the left side of midfield.
That would mean no place in the starting line-up for Damien Duff, a fine player in the making but suspect in tracking back and, as yet, lacking the physical presence for an assignment of these dimensions.
Roy Keane will almost certainly be required for the midfield anchor role originally designated for Lee Carsley, leaving McCarthy to find a new partner for Kinsella in the pivotal positions.
Alan McLoughlin's style is scarcely fitted for the type of match strategy McCarthy is likely to favour, but he can get forward to support the lone front man in a 4-5-1 formation.
David Connolly, a big success in the game against Romania at Bucharest, and Keith O'Neill will have aspirations for the forward role, but ultimately, the manager will probably go with Niall Quinn's proven track record.
