Martin O’Neill hailed his side's unquestionable courage as Ireland secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory in Cardiff to progress to the World Cup play-offs.
O’Neill was full of praise for the entire team with special mentions for James McClean and Shane Duffy, and while he admitted his side may lack certain footballing attributes, he emphasised that "courage is not one of them".
"The performance of the players was fantastic, absolutely fantastic," said O’Neill.
"We had to withstand a lot of pressure, which you would expect. Wales put us under that pressure, as befits a side that had done so brilliantly at the Euros.
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"But we had to come here tonight to win in Cardiff and we have come through and we have done exactly that, so it was a great performance by the players.
"Every single time it went into our penalty area, we had men there, some great, great performances all round – Duffy was fantastic for us tonight, but so were a lot of the players.
"We said here at the press conference yesterday it might be just a little bit cagey early on, we would have to do without the ball – and we had to do without the ball for the first 10 or 11 minutes of the game.
"Once we started to get a foothold on it and got a few passes together, the players got a lot more confidence and we took it on.
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"But at some stage or another, one of the two teams had to score a goal to win a game, and obviously it was a great goal by us, and then that changes the dynamics of the game."
And the goal came courtesy of a mistake that Jeff Hendrick seized upon, before delivering a ball, which was perfectly dispatched by McClean.
"Really brilliant. [Hendrick] chased it down for a start, manoeuvred it magnificently and pulls it across. It was just terrific," said O’Neill, describing the winning goal.
"I have never doubted the character of the players. That's instilled in them. They have great courage. We have had to fight there for long periods in the game in different matches that we have played.
"Their courage is never in doubt, believe it or not. Sometimes we can do better with the ball like anything else, but trying to qualify for the World Cup is a monumental task, different conditions, different matches, you have to try to get a result or two somewhere along the way.
The Ireland manager was both witty and contemplative in the post match press conference where he said that he would not like to face Italy, Portugal or about six other nations.
"I don’t think everybody would want to play us," said O’Neill, when asked whether other nations would fear Ireland in the play-offs.
"Do I fear teams in there? Absolutely, every single one of them. But I have always feared teams; it’s the best way to be.
"And then we go out and beat them," he joked.
"I think I speak for a lot of the nations in the play-offs. I don’t think anyone would want to play Italy, I don’t think anyone would want to be playing Portugal, although Portugal might beat Switzerland.
"And there are about six others I would rather not have. But I am delighted to be in it."
McClean grabbed the only goal of the game in Cardiff to secure the win, just as he proved the match-winner earlier in the campaign, when Ireland beat Austria 1-0 and O’Neill heaped praise on his fellow Derry native.
"He has just been magnificent, magnificent," said O’Neill.
"His energy…When you see James getting tired in a game with ten minutes to go, you realise, the rest of the players must be really tired because James just keeps going.
"His drive and determination has been a trademark for us now and he has been magnificent in the tournament for us, absolutely magnificent.
"He is brilliant for us, very much as Jon Walters was in the qualifying groups of the Euros."
And looking ahead to the two-legged knock-out encounter for a place at the World Cup, O’Neill knows that his side have a lot of work to do to secure a spot in Russia.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do. It was really great tonight, to come and win in Wales was fantastic.
"And the players will not give up, that’s the point. We might lack a few things but courage is not one of them."
O’Neill did not rule out Seamus Coleman returning in time for the play-off matches, but said that the games may come around too quickly for the Everton man who is returning to full fitness.
"Seamus is doing really well. I know what Seamus is like and he was magnificent for us here round about the camp, captain on the field and captain off the field.
"No question about that. It was great to have him and Jonathan Walters [in Cardiff].
"Big players for us. I couldn’t call it. I would have to speak to Alan Byrne our doctor about it and then we would have to speak to Everton.
"He hasn’t played in some time and the play-offs are just around the corner, some time in early November."
