There's understandable excitement at the prospect of the Republic of Ireland sealing a place in the World Cup play-offs in Tallaght on Thursday night.
Three points against Finland would make absolutely sure of second spot with a group game to spare, and send Ireland into the play-offs for a major tournament for the first time since 2008, when Iceland beat the Girls in Green 4-1 on aggregate to deny them a place at Euro 2009.
But even if Ireland do put the Finns to the sword, it's no cakewalk to make the 2023 finals in Australia and New Zealand thereafter.
The World Cup play-offs are a convoluted minefield. Depending on their final points tally, Ireland may have to win as many as four play-off matches to get over the line.
Yes, a victory over Finland at a sold-out Tallaght Stadium would guarantee second spot in Group A behind Sweden, but then things get complicated.
Here's how it works:
- The winners of Europe's nine qualifying groups go to the World Cup.
- The nine runners-up head for the UEFA play-offs.
- In those play-offs, the three best runners-up get byes to round 2. The other six teams play three single-leg play-offs in round 1 on 6 October.
- The winners from round 1, and the teams that go directly to round 2, then compete in single-leg play-offs on 11 October.
- The two play-off winners with the highest ranking (based on results in the qualifying group stage and round 2 play-offs) progress to the finals.
- The other play-off winner will have to go to the inter-confederation play-offs from 17 to 23 February 2023 in New Zealand.
So, Pauw wasn't kidding when she warned: "In Dutch we say, 'don't sell the skin of a bear before you shoot him'. It's a very hard and long road to go."
It also means they could really do with beating Slovakia in the last match even if they are already qualified for the play-offs because it would enhance their ranking.
First though, the Finns.
Ireland's 2-1 win in Helsinki last October pumped belief into the players who had been badly scarred by their failure to make Euro 2022.
It was a hard-earned, gutsy performance in front of around 6,000 supporters who had been in carnival mode.
The Finnish FA moved the match to the Olympic Stadium as part of celebrations marking 50 years of women's football in the country. Ireland spoiled the party, and now Finland will look to do the same in Tallaght.
However they aren't exactly coming to Dublin on the crest of a wave.
Manager Anna Signeul was sacked five weeks ago after a disappointing Euros. They travelled to England with hopes of making the knockout stages but came home early after three defeats, eight goals conceded and just one goal scored.
Pauw studied all their group games and insists Finland actually acquitted themselves pretty well against Spain, Germany and Denmark, three very strong opponents, but Signeul's dismissal has hastened a period of transition.
Her contract was supposed to run until the end of the World Cup qualification campaign. Instead, Under-17s manager Marko Saloranta takes temporary charge for the games against Ireland and Sweden.
"The European Championship was the end of the project led by Signeul, and we thought it was a good time to prepare for the future and set a new direction," Finnish FA President Ari Lahti said in the wake of Signeul's departure.
In contrast, Ireland have been moving very smoothly indeed. A nine-day training camp in Turkey prepped them for the June game in Georgia, which they won 9-0. The England-based players are now deep into pre-season ahead of the Women's Super League kick-off on 10 September while others playing in Ireland and America are in the thick of league action.
They should be tuned up and ready to go in front of a noisy home crowd desperate for a victory.
The FAI announced in June that this game sold out just 30 minutes after the tickets went on general sale so we can expect the previous record of 5,328 - which was set in October 2019 for the win against Ukraine, Pauw's first game in charge - to be broken.
The players have fielded questions about playing their games at the Aviva Stadium so often that they must be exhausted by the whole thing; the consensus among the squad is that Tallaght is their home and they'd much rather play in front of 6,000 people there than 8,000 people at the Aviva where the atmosphere would be lost.
As Katie McCabe put it: "I do think going forward, if we want to continue to grow the game - especially in Ireland - Aviva Stadium games would be nice, but let's crack it off with a friendly against England or the USA or something, not in the middle of a qualifying campaign. We love playing at Tallaght."
Pauw meanwhile has made no effort to play down the significance of the occasion. She often calls her players "a bunch of tigers", praising their steel and resolve in difficult situations. Now they must be guard against a sting in the tail.
"It's a final, we really feel it’s a final," Pauw said. "The thing is that this is their last chance. They will not underestimate us. We have to know where we stand.
"I am not downplaying anything, but I don't see us as favourites. This is a big, big game and it will be very difficult to get a result."
Difficult, but certainly not impossible.
And after that, the hard work really starts.
Republic of Ireland WNT Squad
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion), Eve Badana (DLR Waves)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Claire O'Riordan (Celtic), Diane Caldwell (Reading), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Ciara Grant (Hearts), Lily Agg (London City Lionesses), Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths), Jess Ziu (West Ham United), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)
Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Amber Barrett (FFC Turbine Potsdam), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Abbie Larkin (Shelbourne), Saoirse Noonan (Durham WFC)
