Mick McCarthy claims he saw nothing of substance that he didn't already know, after watching Croatia open their World Cup programme with a win over Jamaica on Sunday.

Together with Yugoslavia, the Croatians present the biggest threat to the Republic of Ireland's hopes of qualifying from Group 8 for the finals of the next European championship.

Depending on their progress here, in France 98, that threat may grow still more menacing in the months ahead, a prospect hardly to the liking of either McCarthy or his assistant, Ian Evans, who watched Yugoslavia beat Iran at the weekend.

"I came here in the belief that Croatia are a very good team and nothing I saw on Sunday made me change my mind," he said. "It's true that Jamaica are not one of the better sides here in France but the Croatians still had to go and win.

"Davor Suker has a reputation as one of the best strikers in the competition and the way he took his chance for the third goal, admittedly with the help of a deflection, had all the quality of a player in that category.

"Jamaica didn't get enough momentum going to test Croatia's defence and that was the only part of their team that wasn't proven in the game. But, yes, you could say, that they're a solid outfit."

The Irish management team, in common with many others, noted that Yugoslavia were made to look less than impressive in the closing stages of their 1-0 win over Iran at St Etienne.

FIFA look set to launch an official investigation after it emerged last night that the referee of England's World Cup opener spent the night before the match with a top English FA official.

Lancaster Gate referees' assessor Ken Ridden spent Sunday night in the company of Japanese official Masayoshi Okada and the match assessor in a luxury Marseille hotel.

FA chief executive Graham Kelly was also staying in the five-star Sofitel Hotel when Ridden dined with Okada and German Volker Rolt.