McCarthy watches his side qualify (Allsport).

Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy hailed his heroes in green after they booked their place in the second round of the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

Goals from Robbie Keane, Gary Breen and Damien Duff made sure the Irish qualified from Group E along with Germany, who defeated Cameroon 2-0.

They will now take on the winners of Group B, probably Spain, in Suwon on Sunday.

McCarthy was delighted after Keane gave them a dream start with his seventh-minute goal.

The manager said: "It's something we worked on - getting in behind them.

"They (Saudi Arabia) played well in the first half but in the second half I thought we were excellent.

"It was a big game and it's great to go through. The lads responded really well.

McCarthy, who revealed he did not know how events were unfolding in the Germany-Cameroon game, added: "Everyone has been telling us all week what a big game it was.

"You want to try sitting in that dug-out when your backside's on the bacon slicer!"

McCarthy admitted his side overcame early nerves to seal the victory.

"We played very well in the second half but first half after getting a great start we were very nervous. This was a big game for us," he said.

"I think there was frustration on the pitch and off the pitch.

"We started to try and chase it and get that other goal.

"After we had a chat at half-time and made ourselves solid then we had a base to build on."

"We tried to chase the game earlier than we should have done.

"I thought we had to settle as a win would get us through and as it turned out that would have been enough."

McCarthy introduced Niall Quinn for Ian Harte at half-time to help Damien Duff and Robbie Keane.

"I thought the smaller lads were being bullied out of it and Quinny gave us a target and something to aim at," he said.

"He's a threat, not only in the air but he can hold it up for us too."

McCarthy also praised Blackburn's Duff, who capped his display with the third goal and his first of the Finals.

"Some people think his best position is wide left and maybe it is but he gives a different option when he plays through the middle," he said.

"His second half performance was brilliant and he deserved his goal."

Steve Staunton paid tribute to the legions of the Green Army in the Yokohama Stadium.

"We saw all the old familiar banners that we see from back home and everywhere we go," he said.

"They are absolutely unbelievable, they just keep on coming and following us.

"You just had to listen to the noise and see the green around the stadium.

"I can visualise the celebrations back home and just imagine what is going on, ands good luck to them all."

Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar felt his team were hard done by.

He said: "We had a lot of positives from the match and some negatives also.

"Our team played better football. We received the ball more than the Irish.

"But in the second half I believe we played very good football against Cameroon and the Irish, but we did not score, and that's football."

He also praised his side's resilience and determination not to be on the end of another massive scoreline.

He added: "We did not collapse and we played very well. We were negative in the first half, and not bad in the second.

"I'm not satisfied with the way we played in the tournament, it was not good enough, but France got knocked out without scoring a goal."