Republic of Ireland manager Don Givens admits his side will have to play to their very best if they are to reach next year's European Championship finals in Sweden for the first time.
They face a tough opening to their qualifying campaign against Portugal at Turner's Cross tomorrow but it is unlikely to get any easier as they also have England, Bulgaria and Montenegro in their group.
Even if they managed to get through Group Three unscathed the Irish would then face a play-off for a place in the final eight.
'If we were to finish in the top two in this group it would be a tremendous achievement but we can't afford to drop our standards in any aspect of our play if we're to get a result,' said Givens.
'Our performances in our last two games against the Germans and Holland were very encouraging and that's the level we'll need to reach again.
'We've watched tapes of Portugal's last game against the Maltese and it was all one-way traffic but we know them well having played against them (losing 1-0) in the Madeira Tournament in March.
'At this level it is about our own performances. We need to make sure we are at our best in terms of technique, tactics, discipline and concentration.'
Givens' youngsters have impressed in their two most recent friendly internationals at this level.
Two goals by Wolves midfielder Stephen Gleeson helped them to a 2-2 draw with Germany in Furth two weeks ago.
The Irish also lost narrowly 1-0 in April to the Dutch side that went on to become European champions in July. Recent Real Madrid £8.5million signing Royston Drenthe got the only goal in that fixture.
