The expectant father is due to leave for home tomorrow and he’s only hoping his beloved wife Marie can hold out on delivering their third child until then.

"The other two didn’t come early but they weren’t due during a World Cup. I’m afraid what might happen in the excitement. I’m a bad husband to be here at all," said Martin from Ennis, Co. Clare. He’ll be sorry to miss out if Korea is on the cards but reckons the new baby will be more than consolation. Besides, the midwives can start filling in the birth cert now for the child is set be christened Robert or Roberta if Martin has his way.

"Sure we’ll have to call it after Robbie. That’s the other big feature of this World Cup."

While Martin is definitely heading home, regardless of today’s result, other fans are making last-minute inquiries about extending their stays, changing their flights and arranging marriage counselling for when they do eventually return. Some have found flights from Tokyo to Seoul for

€250 return. Others have discovered a high-speed ferry that does the run from Niigata, where Ireland’s first match was played, to Korea’s east coast in under three hours.

Now all they need is a helpful travel agent, an elasticised bank account and a lot of understanding on the home front.

Declan Caulfield has already done a deal with his wife that involves an entire summer of babysitting ahead if his epic cycling trek from stadium to stadium across Japan is repeated in Korea.

He concedes the arrangement is only fair seeing as he left behind a five-day-old baby daughter who will have spent three-quarters of her life without a father by the time he gets home.

Declan, originally from Lismore Park, Waterford, but living in San Diego, California, is further disgraced by the fact that his mother travelled all the way over to help take care of wife, Jennifer, and the new arrival in his absence while his brother who lives next door has also been playing watchdog.

"Jennifer understands - honest - she says as long as I do baby patrol all summer while she plays beach volleyball, she’s fine with it. Besides, the baby’s hearing all the cheering and singing in the house so we’ll make a fan of her too."

Brian Daly, who has his eye on the ferry option, has nobody to answer to at home - apart from Martin O’Grady who is his boss. "We’re supposed to be going home together but I’m going to stick it out now to see which runs out first - the pockets or the Irish team," he said.

"I’ve told Martin I’ll tell him all about it when I get home," he added thoughtfully.