Things are shaping up nicely for Foley

Emmet Malonetalks to Kevin Foley, who may be about to benefit from some recent international retirements

Three months ago, being a right back waiting for a chance to prove your worth in the Ireland set-up was not the most promising of situations. For Kevin Foley (23), though, things have changed quickly these past few weeks, the retirements of Stephen Carr and Steve Finnan leaving him within kicking distance of senior international football.

The defender's rise at club level has been sure and steady, with almost 200 appearances under his belt for Luton and Wolves. Now, after a handful of call-ups and a couple of nights spent warming the bench, he's hoping tonight's game against Brazil will provide the opportunity for a first senior international run-out.

Whether he plays or not, it will be the young Londoner's first time at Croke Park, which will in itself make the night a memorable one. Foley, whose parents, Patrick and Kathleen, come from Waterville, Co Kerry, has watched his fair share of All-Ireland finals on television, most recently enjoying the spectacle of his second cousin Declan O'Sullivan lifting Sam Maguire.

On long summer holidays back in Kerry he tried his hand at football too.

"Yeah once or twice," he recalls. "When I first started I was bouncing the ball and soloing it and then I thought, well why not play it on the floor. I soon found out that wasn't the thing to do when my cousins are coming in with two feet saying, 'you'd want to pick the ball up'."

Back in Luton, where his family moved when he was six, his talent with a ball was obvious from an early age. By the time he was nine Luton Town were keen on him and through his teenage years he enjoyed much success with school and club sides.

When he led Cardinal Newman School to the final of the Heinz Cup - a prestigious nationwide second-level competition - at Highbury, he was named the player of the tournament and by the time he left school he was playing for Luton's reserves and under-19s, alternating, having started out as a striker, between central midfield and right back.

Joe Kinnear, who gave him his league debut almost six years ago, Mike Newell, who made him a first-team regular, and Mick McCarthy, who brought him to Wolves for €1.1 million at the start of this season, have all played important parts in his development but, with endearing honesty, it's his mother Foley credits with having done most to make him into a professional footballer.

"She didn't drive when she was younger," he says affectionately, "so it was taxis everywhere to training, matches on a Saturday, matches on a Sunday. She had a couple of jobs looking after me and my brother. Without my mum supporting me, and also my dad, I wouldn't have had the career I had."

Foley drew inspiration from older members of the Luton Irish, watching Gary Doherty and Liam George help the Republic to the European Youths title in Cyprus in 1998, and has fond memories of watching the 1994 World Cup with friends in the local church club.

With obvious relish he recounts Ray Houghton's goal in considerable detail, almost attempting to re-enact it in his seat, and then talks about how he became hooked on the Brazilians as they went on to win the title.

Over the following years he collected videos of the likes of Pele and Zico in action while taking every opportunity possible to watch the current team in action. Now, he says, he can think of "nothing better" than to make his debut against the South Americans.

With Finnan and Carr gone and cover urgently needed for Stephen Kelly, there is every reason to expect that Givens will make that particular dream come through tonight.