Ireland's most capped international, with 92 caps, says he would love the chance to make his final appearance for his country by playing in the finals in Japan and Korea.
"We will have to see what the result is after the first game in Dublin," said McCarthy. "But having said that we have a better chance now than when we first started out on the road to qualification.
"If we can produce our best form at home then I would certainly rate our chances. I thought we were in a very difficult group and generally we did very well. But it would all have been in vain if we do not qualify.
"Personally, I want to go to the World Cup again because it is a wonderful experience. Being out in Korea and Japan, where I haven't been as yet, would be nice and going there to compete in the World Cup would be even better."