History beckons for an Ireland team on the cusp of qualifying for their first ever World Cup play-off as they welcome Finland to a sold-out Tallaght Stadium tonight.
Retired international Marie Curtin belives it has been a long route to this stage for Vera Pauw's team, but she expects them to get the job done, with the match live on RTÉ 2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ 2FM.
The Girls in Green need just three points to put their competitors Finland out of contention for the coveted second position in the group behind leaders Sweden.
A draw would mean that Ireland would have to better Finland's result in their last game which is at home to Sweden.
Ireland must travel to Slovakia for their final game of the group, so the Girls in Green are firmly in the driving seat.
Now, Ireland have to deal with the favourites tag. They already beat Finland away from home in October 2021 by two goals to one.
"I think that Vera manages expectation very well. Anytime you hear her speak, it's reflected well. She always speaks about the opposition well," said former Ireland international Curtin on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"When one of her players is speaking ahead of the game they always respect the opposition. I always feel like there's a sense of managing expectations and knowing there is a tough job to be done."
Under Pauw's guidance Ireland have become a force in Europe, suffering just one defeat in their last nine games. That came at the Pinatar Cup against Russia.
"I feel like they have been in a slow incline since this group got together.
"There is some players who have been there a long time. Even back to when I was playing some of the young players then like Denise O'Sullivan, she's still with the group today.
"Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell, Louise Quinn, there's that mix in the team where there is experience and the bit of youth. I think it's the right mix of experience and youth."
'Be with us! Cheers us up! In difficult moments, make sure you're loud and help us through those moments' - Vera Pauw with a rallying cry for the sold out crowd ahead of tomorrow's pivotal qualifier against Finland - @DaveKelly4 reports from Tallaght Stadium #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/7fo9nGOqt0
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 31, 2022
Finland arrive in Dublin off the back of a rocky Euros experience in England where they were dumped out at the group stage.
They lost all three of their group games at the Euros and then parted company with manager Anna Signeul in the aftermath. Their under-17 coach Marko Saloranta has taken interim charge.
"I think it's going to be a tough game because Finland are after coming out of a tough Euros [tournament] in England.
"They did have a tough campaign, they suffered injury and Covid during it, so things didn't go their way. They didn't have the best luck and they'll be hugely disappointed coming off the back of that."
Ireland looked on course to qualify for at least a play-off for that tournament. That was until a horror own goal from Áine O'Gorman away to Ukraine gave them a 1-0 victory which crushed Ireland's hopes of reaching the play-off.
"Ireland will be disappointed they didn't compete at the Euros and they just have that hunger to drive on.
"I expect Ireland to get a win. I'm going to say that my prediction is 1-0," said Curtin.
"Stick with my positivity for this group of players, I have huge belief in them. I think things are looking good and definitely on the up for this group."
REMAINING FIXTURES
Thursday 1 September: Republic of Ireland v Finland, Tallaght Stadium, 7pm Georgia v Slovakia, Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium, 5pm
Tuesday 6 September: Slovakia v Republic of Ireland, Narodne treningove centrum SFZ, 5pm Finland v Sweden, Tammela Stadion, 5pm
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: IRELAND V FINLAND
Follow the Republic of Ireland versus Finland on Thursday (kick-off 7pm) via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live coverage on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, or listen to national radio commentary on RTÉ 2FM.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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