JASON McAteer broke the drought of Bolton Wanderers players at a World Cup when he turned out for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.

The first player since Tommy Banks in 1958, McAteer helped to steer his side to the quarter-finals which they lost 2-0 to Holland.

A World Cup in which England failed to qualify, Republic of Ireland scraped through their group with a win over Italy, a draw with Norway and a defeat to Mexico.

The midfielder appeared again on the world’s most glamorous stage at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

Here his side excelled as they finished second in their group, snatching a point off Cameroon and Germany before finishing with a 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.

The Round of 16 pitted Republic of Ireland against Spain and after a 1-1 draw they lost in the lottery of a shootout 3-2.

McAteer played 52 times for his national side scoring three goals.

He made his debut against Russia in 1994 whilst he was still playing for Bolton Wanderers.

Another 14 caps were won whilst he remained at the Whites before he moved to Liverpool in 1995 for £4.5million.

He went on to make 139 appearances for Liverpool during his four-year spell, scoring three goals, before moving on to Blackburn for £4million.

McAteer went on to play for Sunderland and his hometown club Tranmere Rovers before hanging up his boots in 2007.