The Republic of Ireland face the dreaded play-off route if they are to make it to the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
RTÉ Sport’s Glenn Mason takes a look at Ireland’s possible opponents for the two-legged clash in November.
The defeat to France in November 2009 was the latest in a series of play-off heartaches for Ireland.
Ireland’s play-off woes stretch back to 1965 and a World Cup decider defeat to Spain in Paris.
Since then the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey have also ended Irish interest at the final qualifying stage.
And Ireland have never beaten a European team, with the sole play-off victory coming against Iran on the way to the 2002 World Cup.
However, UEFA's coefficient ranking system, which is based on results from the last three major tournaments – Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 - means Ireland are now seeded for Thursday's draw in the Polish city of Krakow.
Estonia, Turkey, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the opposite side of the draw and each poses their own dangers.
So let’s have a look at the form of Ireland's four possible opponents.
TURKEY
Coach: Guus Hiddink. Key Men: Arda Turan, Hamit Altintop.
Burak Yilmaz's goal secured Turkey's place in the play-offs in the 1-0 win over Azerbaijan in Istanbul.
Guus Hiddink's side had trailed Belgium going into the final game, but all-conquering group winners Germany ended Belgian hopes with a 3-1 win in Düsseldorf.
Pictured below: Turkey's Hamit Altintop in a recent clash against Germany
Turkey's defeat to Germany last Friday saw them slip behind Ireland in the rankings meaning they dropped into the unseeded section.
The Turks enjoyed mixed fortunes in Group A as they as picked up away points in Austria and Belgium, but also lost in Azerbaijan last October.
Turkey advanced to Euro 2000 at Ireland's expense on away goals after the infamous game in Bursa.
ESTONIA
Coach: Tarmo Ruutli. Key Men: Tarmo Kink, Konstanin Vassiljev.
Estonia caused a major upset by beating Serbia, Slovenia and Northern Ireland to second spot in Group C behind group winners Italy.
Slovenia did their group rivals a favour on Tuesday night when they beat Serbia 1-0 in Maribor to confirm Estonia's best ever qualification result.
Pictured below: Estonia's star man Tarmo Kink in action against Italy
Tarmo Ruutli's side will have garnered the attention of Irish fans when they beat Northern Ireland twice in the past two months: 4-1 in Tallinn and 2-1 in Belfast.
As well as the two wins over Nigel Worthington's side, Estonia picked up wins on the road in Slovenia and Serbia, but they also lost 2-0 against the lowly Faroe Islands.
Mick McCarthy's side picked up two 2-0 wins over Estonia on the way to the 2002 World Cup, while Shamrock Rovers fans will have happy memories of their side's recent Champions League win over FC Flora of Tallinn.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Coach: Safet Susic Key Men: Edin Dzeko, Zvjezdan Misimovic, Miralem Pjanic.
Samir Nasri's second half penalty earned the point that France needed to top Group D and condemn Bosnia to the play-offs for the second campaign running.
The Bosnians missed out on a place at last year's World Cup as Portugal secured a 2-0 aggregate win.
Pictured below: Bosnia and Herzegovina's dangerman is Man City centre forward Edin Dzeko
They had another largely impressive campaign this time around, but did lose at home to France and suffered a 3-0 reversal in Romania in June.
A trip to the historic city of Sarajevo awaits Ireland fans if the sides are drawn together by Polish legend Zbigniew Boniek on Thursday.
MONTENEGRO
Coach: Branko Brnovic. Key Men: Stefan Jovetic, Mirko Vucinic.
Montenegro may have been seeded below their true level but their rise is still remarkable. They have only been playing international football since they broke away from Serbia in 2006.
Pictured below: Montenegro's Mirko Vucinic gets in between England pair Gareth Barry and Wayne Rooney
There were wild scenes of celebration in Podgorica on Friday night as they came from two goals down against England to claim the point they needed to oust Switzerland.
It was their second draw against England as they also picked up a point at Wembley last October. They were impressive in winning in Bulgaria, but less so in losing 2-1 to Wales last month.
Giovanni Trapattoni and his players will have clear memories of how tough Montenegro can be as they held Ireland to two 0-0 draws in the last campaign.
The draw will also decide the order of the home and away ties, which will be played on 11/12 November and 15 November.
