Three years into the job, and it seems that this is the one that Stephen Kenny has been waiting for, with the arrival of Europe's top team into Dublin.
France can no longer claim to be the world’s best, having fallen to Argentina on penalties in the Qatar Christmas decider, however, they remain the continent’s finest, and the most consistent team in the world over the past eight years, according to the Ireland manager.
On Friday night, the Didier Deschamps juggernaut continued to roar, steamrolling the Dutch 4-0 in their opening encounter on the road to qualification for Germany 2024.
And yet, Kenny appears to be relishing the challenge that his side will face at the Aviva Stadium on Monday night, as his team maintain their quest for that one big win that often defines an Ireland manager’s tenure.
England away at Wembley – albeit a friendly fixture – came way too soon at the beginning of this new era in Irish football, while it could have, and perhaps should have, happened away in Portugal 18 months ago, as Kenny’s men were leading 1-0 with two minutes left on the clock.
It never happened. And then again in the return fixture, there were signs that it was imminent, but still this Ireland team are waiting for a result to really kick-start the current generation.
Euro 2024 was always the tournament that the manager was looking towards as he attempts to joins the great managers who have qualified Ireland for a major football event.
A task made quite a bit easier since the expansion to a 24-team format, most notably when compared to the attritional eight-team days of Euro 88, where Ireland first dined at the top table of European football.
But as we saw in 2016, qualification brings with it all the benefits for football in Ireland, from the filling of the FAI coffers, to the feelgood factor that it bestows upon the country as a whole, not to mention the trip of a life-time for many of the supporters who get to travel far and wide to support the national team.
And if the entire nation – or at least those who remain firmly in the Kenny camp – felt anguish for the manager when handed a group with not one, but two European superpowers, in France and the Netherlands, the current coach does not appear to be feeling sorry for himself as he readies his side for their opening bout of this eight-stanza scenario.
Au contraire.
The manager was keeping his cards very close to his chest at the pre-match press conference, but a question on tactics allowed Kenny to expand just a touch more than he had planned, perhaps.
A fairly conservative question in relation to potentially conservative tactics, in light of what happened to the poor Dutch in Paris on Friday night, but no doubt, loaded with subtext in the manager’s mind about the recurring criticisms during his time in charge and constant comparisons to how the others would manage in such circumstances against superior sides.
"Why would we change now? Why would we take a step back now?" said Kenny.
"France, one of the best teams in the world coming at us, do we just suddenly change and not have to courage to do that? And just accept a slow death? Definitely not."
The "fire and ice" comment followed as the manager attempted to maintain that air of confidence that appeared to be evident throughout the camp this week, aside from that short spell in the first half at Lansdowne on Wednesday as Latvia smashed two into the Ireland net.
"I am very pleased with the quality overall the players have shown recently. We are an improving team," added Kenny, when asked how far down the road he was regarding where he would have liked to be at this stage with the team, three years on.
Not too convincing, in truth as he speaks of winning eight of last 15, and only five losses in 20.
But the team are improving, and the fact that he points to the defeats, "none of them have been by more than a goal", suggests where the confidence is coming from ahead of the France fixture.
Confident to put in a better showing than the Dutch, at least, and while not too many are expecting this match to be "the one", an encouraging outing is what is required to attempt to battle with the Netherlands for the other automatic qualifying place.
Speaking further about the game, the manager reverted to giving away as little as possible, stating that "I'm not going to discuss my tactical game-plan".
But he emphasised that he wanted his side to be bold and brave, play the possession football that they have been showcasing over the past few years, and continue to take risks.
"When you are in possession you can never think you are comfortable," said Kenny, when asked how to avoid falling into the France traps, playing against a team who are happy to play out of possession over extended periods of the game.
"We should continue to take risks, not waver in any way from that, that's important, that's what the team is built on and that's critical, that we do that.
"But we must make provisions to counter any counter-attacks that they have, have balance and cover and that's what we must have.
"The crowd don't need a rallying call from me, they understand the traditions of Ireland and France, the connection with the players and the supporters. You can feel the connection growing, it's very powerful, the crowd will really get behind the team, it will be a special occasion, a huge challenge, there's no doubt about that."
Injury issues will see the manager veer slightly from his preferred plan, as it sounds like Callum O’Dowda will miss out, while Seamus Coleman is an injury concern.
Two very important players for Ireland in the circumstances as O’Dowda would have added welcome pace as an outlet against the esteemed visitors, while Coleman’s presence could have been key in the quest to nullify the attacking threat of Kylian Mbappe on the left of the attack.
Yet still, Kenny is confident that he will employ the right tactics to best cope with, and even punish France at Lansdowne Road on Monday night, and while the manager saw a lot of Didier Deschamps’ side at the World Cup, he feels that Friday night’s game added assurances as to how best to set up.
"I wouldn’t like to be critical of any team really," said Kenny, when asked to comment on the defensive frailties that the Dutch showed on Friday night.
A wise move, knowing that he still has to face the Netherlands twice in this campaign and was not going to offer ammunition for future confrontations.
Kenny was surprised to see how many players played ahead of the ball for Holland, however, and suggested that his side would employ a different attacking approach.
"They committed a lot of bodies forward, so it was an interesting one tactically, because obviously they played with a back four, and sometimes committed five players to attack very early.
"They did create chances, and it’s finding the balance with that, to be able to carry a threat. But also not leave ourselves exposed. It’s a balance on that.
"We know that France are an outstanding team and we’re going to have to raise our level again to cause problems.
"So we’re just focused on ourselves and making sure we prepare well and making sure the players understand what is expected of them. And that they go and enjoy the game, and you know show their quality and certainly you know be inspired by the occasion rather than being fearful of it."
Watch Republic of Ireland v France in Euro 2024 qualifying on Monday from 7pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on 2fm's Game On
