Cardiff City v Portsmouth
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
The Final
3pm, Saturday 17 May 2008
Wembley Stadium
Winning club will receive £1,000,000 from The FA
Seating plan - click here



Cardiff City midfielder Paul Parry admits he thought his once-in-a-lifetime chance of playing at Wembley had passed him by.

The 27-year-old Wales international suffered a hamstring strain prior to his side's Semi-Final victory and has only played twice since March, but proved his fitness on the last day of the season, scoring in a 3-0 win against Barnsley.

And courtesy of Joe Ledley's winning goal against the same opponents last month, Parry may get the chance to fulfil his ambition and play in The FA Cup Final against Portsmouth on Saturday.

"Before The Semi, when I picked up my injury, I thought my world was coming to an end," he admitted. 

"When the final whistle went after The Semi, it was always my aim to get fit for The Final.

"It's every boy's dream to play in a major game at Wembley. To be told you had no chance of playing in it would be heartbreaking.

"I thought my chance of Wembley had gone after my hamstring injury. They don't come along very often and I have never had the opportunity to play there before. And, of course, there were no guarantees that we would get through in The Semi-Final against Barnsley.

"I thought there was every chance that it could have gone and that I'd never have the opportunity to do it again."

Parry travelled to London to be with the Cardiff squad as they prepared for The Semi-Final, and despite having been capped 11 times by his country, he admits he has never been as nervous as he was on the substitutes' bench at Wembley.

"I couldn't have stayed away and not been part of the squad travelling there," he added. 

"I couldn't have stayed at home and watched it. I wanted to be a part of it and see what the boys were going through.

"It was probably the most nervous game of football I've been involved in. Even when playing games I haven't felt that nervous.

"I knew that if we didn't get through, I may never get the chance to play at Wembley."