Estonia stand between the Republic of Ireland and a place in the Euro 2012 finals following today's play-off draw in Krakow.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side will be away in the first leg on Friday, 11 November, with the return tie at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, 15 November.
Estonia have never reached the finals of a major tournament, and this is Tarmo Ruutli's side's first play-off appearance.
They have made it this far following a second-place finish behind Italy in Group C and a crucial outcome for them was a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in the penultimate round of matches. They secured second spot when Slovenia beat Serbia on the final night of group action.
Overall, the Estonian's qualifying campaign was a mixed bag of results including a 2-1 away win over Slovenia in September, but they suffered a 2-0 away defeat to Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands in June.
Ireland have played in five play-offs before, winning just once, to claim a place at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals.
The other pairings see Turkey take on Croatia; the Czech Republic will play Montenegro, while Portugal will face Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Speaking after the draw, Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said: "It is extremely positive for Ireland that we will play the first leg away. We should not underestimate our opposition, or any team, including Estonia, to have made it through to the play-off, they must have quality and mental fortitude.
"Our build up to this stage of the competition has shown us the importance of organisation, attention to detail, and self-belief. That will be vitally important to us as we prepare for these games in November."
Former Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge has backed the team to beat Estonia and qualify for the finals.
Asked if he thought Trapattoni's side would go through, he told Sky Sports News: "Yes. We've got the greatest travelling fans and it would be great to see them on the road again."
The former Liverpool player believes the Republic were fortunate to draw Estonia.
He said: "It was probably the easiest of the four (seeded teams to draw).
"We travel better than we play at home, we've had better results away than we have had at home."
Aldridge added on his hopes for the first leg: "They will try to get a clean sheet, try to get a win which would set us up nicely."
Aldridge admitted the suspension of striker Kevin Doyle, still waiting to hear the length of his punishment after being sent off in the qualifier against Armenia on Tuesday which the Republic won 2-1, would be a blow to the team's chances.
However, he backed Shane Long to fill the breach.
"Shane Long has done really well when he has deputised for either Robbie (Keane) or Kevin so it's a great opportunity for him."
Ireland and Estonia have met twice before, in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
The Irish, then under Mick McCarthy's management, won both games 2-0, with defender Richard Dunne, a scorer against Armenia, on target in each match.
