The late arrival takes flight

Player watch: Steve FinnanSteve Finnan seems to have been closing in on stardom for the longest time.Mentioned in dispatches as one to watch through a long apprenticeship at Notts County, then rising with Fulham to the Premiership and making the breakthrough in the Irish side despite a queue for the right back position that had Steve Carr and Gary Kelly in front of him, he finally hit the big leagues on Saturday.

Again, he took the long route. Injury to Carr and then Kelly's sending off against Holland last October had let him into the side as the first-choice right back. Then for a player who is usually impervious to injury, he had to sit out much of the training here in Japan and could only watch as he lost his place in the pecking order again.

He's a phlegmatic young man and it was no surprise to him that when his World Cup moment came he was asked to play out of position and for a team that had their backs to the wall. He took the call as equably as he'd taken the news the day before that he wouldn't be playing. Named by his peers the best right back in the Premiership last season, he lost out to the experience and leadership of Gary Kelly. He'd not had the best fortnight before Mick McCarthy announced the team, being sidelined with a groin strain for a lot of the time, so when the news came he took it in silence.

"It was a close call," said McCarthy afterwards of perhaps his most surprising tactical decision. "Steve has been excellent. Gary has been brilliant . . . Steve missed a fair bit of training though and Gary has been a leader. I thought he deserved to play. Steve was unlucky."

"I was disappointed," said Finnan. We went to the stadium and Mick told us the team and when he calls it out and your name isn't in it, yeah it's disappointing. This is the pinnacle, this is what every player wants to do, come here and play in a World Cup, but I decided to keep my head right, keep the attitude positive and perhaps the chance would come. Obviously I was very disappointed not to play in the first place but to get on, it's good that things came out that way.

"You have to tell yourself that everyone is in this together and we've been through a lot, and we are strong because of everything that's gone on in the past couple of weeks. You just have to get on with it really."

Throughout his career, that particular philosophy has always brought its rewards, and again Finnan's instincts served him well. From the bench he tuned into the game from the start and when the call came via Taff Evans, his head was just right even if his legs weren't.

"There were no real instructions. I just know I didn't have time to get warmed up properly. We came into the dressing-room at half-time and a few heads were down. We'd gone 1-0 down six minutes before the break and nobody likes that.

"I knew I was going on at that stage because Jason was injured. So I don't really know what Mick said to the team at half-time. I just spent half-time getting my thoughts together, making sure that my head was alright and that I'd get the most out of it."

He did. One of the quieter more contemplative characters on the team, it would always be in Finnan's nature to internalise the moment. When he hit the pitch though, the energy and strength he exuded on the right wing heralded a new start for the team. Twice in the first 10 minutes after the break he coltishly galloped deep into Cameroon territory. It lifted the stadium and lifted those around him.

"The goal killed us a little bit, but the fans were getting behind us when we were going forward early on. Even if we weren't creating loads of good chances, it was just going forward, getting onto the ball and playing it in their half for a bit that was making a difference.

"We started doing that for a bit and we felt we were enjoying it. The chances we created weren't all that clear-cut but at least we were giving them something to think about. You could see some of their confidence going.

"I think as the game wore on they were surprised by how much energy we had. It wasn't that hot in the second half anyway, and we had the better chances. That keeps you going."

And his own performance? "I thought it went well. I enjoyed it, but if you don't enjoy playing here as a footballer you won't enjoy anything. We took a lot from the support in the stands and I think in the second half we gave it back."

And for McCarthy? That old cliché, the selection headache. "Hey, it's better that he came on and did what he did than if he came on and played badly!"

So 16 caps and 26 years of age, a player coming into his prime at the greatest tournament in the world. "Yeah" he says, "hopefully this is just the start.