The Republic of Ireland are already playing catch up in their quest to qualify for the World Cup as they get set to take on Armenia in Yerevan.
Despite impressively battling back from a two-goal deficit against Hungary at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, the result leaves Heimir Hallgrimsson's side with an even steeper mountain to climb.
Before a ball was kicked in Group F, there was an assumption that Portugal, as top seeds, would win the group and qualify automatically, while Ireland and Hungary would battle it out for second spot.
Remarkably, following such a high-profile build-up to the start of the campaign, Ireland were caught completely cold at a packed-out Lansdowne Road as they conceded inside three minutes as a result of some schoolboy defensive play.
On top of that, the team failed to respond to the shock concession and were dominated throughout the next ten minutes before a corner-kick led to a second, where again Ireland’s defending left a lot to be desired.
As luck would have it, Hungary failed to go for the jugular and kill the game off, but rather engaged in all things theatrical, going down at every opportunity, while wasting time whenever possible.
And it allowed Ireland to restore an element of confidence and create a few chances, while still not looking very cohesive with or without the football, and safely make it to back into the dressing room just the two goals in arrears.
"Go gung-ho" was the message from the manager and so it would unfold. Not the prettiest of pictures but a rabble-rousing second-half performance that sent the fans home buzzing from an injury-time leveller to rescue the campaign.
Winning your home games is traditionally the bare minimum required for progression to the major tournaments, and now Ireland will have to, at least, match that result in the final game in Budapest in November, while enjoying a better outcome over the two games with Portugal than their Hungarian counterparts.
So still in it, but with it all to do, as the Armenia game comes with the caveat that Ireland can afford no more slip-ups and need a dominant victory tonight to settle things down heading into the October games.
"Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?" pondered the manager at the pre-match press conference, when reflecting on Saturday’s performance.
Hallgrimsson is certainly looking to take the positives out of the result, if not the complete performance, while his assessment that Ireland controlled the game from the 30th minute to the end of the game has to be regarded as a touch generous.
The half-empty glass most likely refers to the critics of Saturday’s performance, with the manager’s preparation being highlighted as a result of yet another early goal conceded, while his selection and formation has also come under scrutiny that appears to be intensifying.
And the manager also went on the offensive, suggesting that the team are still trying to find their identity under his tenure, which may not carry much weight once in the throes of the campaign.
"The preparation should be the same all the time, you need to be consistent in what we're doing," he said, when discussing playing games against those ranked higher, like Portugal and Hungary, and lower, such as tonight’s opponents.
"We need to learn from the last game, what we did good, what we did not so good, to grow as a team, we're still creating our identity and that takes time.
"It really takes time to build a strong identity that everybody is in sync, so step by step, but home or away we should play the same."
One part of the identity that is certainly coming back is the fact that more high-octane, direct and aggressive performances like the second half on Saturday will lead to teams hating playing Ireland once more.
The Hungary manager was fuming after the "wrestling match" and he will not enjoy the prospect of having to beat Ireland in the final game of the group phase in Budapest to emerge.
Portugal, taking note, no doubt, although Armenia may not buy into the fear factor as they will see tonight’s game as their best chance to take anything from the campaign.
Hallgrimsson predicts that Armenia will fly out of the blocks, however, Ireland should be more than capable of controlling the early tempo and gradually taking control of the game. And yet, the fear factor will most likely be in Ireland’s defensive unit, who are under the microscope following their penchant for switching off at key moments.
Regarding team selection, it remains to be seen if Matt Doherty and Nathan Collins escape the wrath of Hallgrimsson and remain in the starting XI. However, there is a good chance that the former was only slated to start one of the two.
Hallgrimsson anointed Collins captain and he is unlikely to be panicked by Saturday’s performance, and no doubt feels that his overall contribution allows for the odd mistake, albeit of the goal-conceding variety.
Fatigue is unlikely to play too much a part when it comes to freshening things up, but the manager and coaching team will certainly be looking to go big on impact players to help get the campaign back on track this evening.
Chiedozie Ogbene should certainly start to replace the injured Sammie Szmodics, while Kasey McAteer will also be raring to get in.
The issue at left-back can be resolved by asking Ryan Manning to slip back down the flank a touch, while maintaining his obvious prowess from the dead-ball, the Southampton man playing a major role in both goals on Saturday.
Adam Idah, likewise, will be knocking on the door following that classy cameo on Saturday, and based on the 40-odd crosses that were delivered into the mix in that game, Hallgrimsson must be contemplating the option of going with a big two up front, knowing that he can surely sacrifice one of the sixes for this one.
Victory might not be straightforward, yet it should still be secured, which would leave Ireland on four points from their opening two games, and offer a clean slate of sorts to attack the October games.
"Portugal, everybody thinks they're runaway favourites in this group, but let's see," said Hallgrimsson, who expects there to be a lot more twists and turns throughout the six-game sprint to the November finish.
Ronaldo & Co are in action at the Puskas Arena in Budapest straight after the Ireland game, and it will certainly be a good indicator as to whether this group will play out as predicted, or whether Ireland and Hungary can drag Portugal down to their level.
Watch The Republic of Ireland play Armenia in World Cup qualifying from 4:30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra from 4:55pm.
