Without wishing to turn anyone's anxiety levels (Spinal Tap-style) all the way up to 11, the possibility of this World Cup play-off semi-final in Prague going to a penalty shootout is real.
A game of this magnitude is likely to be very cagey, both sides terrified to make a mistake that could obliterate dreams. A stalemate after extra-time? Not that hard to fathom.
So how would we shape up in that scenario, given Heimir Hallgrimsson has admitted the players weren't dedicating too much time to practising pens: "Other things are more important."
Ireland's trump card is goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, whose record in shootouts is incredible. At Liverpool, Kelleher was involved in four winning penalty shooutouts, including the 2022 Carabao Cup final against Chelsea when he also scored what proved to be the winning kick. He made six saves across the quartet of shootouts.
In the Premier League, he's saved four of six penos he's faced for Liverpool and Brentford, while on the international stage Kelleher has thwarted Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Joel Pohjanpalo of Finland.
When West Ham knocked the Bees out of the FA Cup on penalties earlier this month, they deliberately aimed their efforts high and towards the corner such is Kelleher's reputation for reading spot-kicks. The Hammers executed five perfect atttempts to beat the Corkman, but that is a risky, technically difficult thing to pull off.
The fact Kelleher is forcing opposition players to place their shots with such precision bodes well.
Ireland have been involved in three competitive shootouts: Romania at Italia 90 (victors), Spain at the 2002 World Cup (losers) and Slovakia in the Euro 2020 play-off semi-finals (losers).
The Slovakian game is most pertinent because a couple of players involved tomorrow night were central to the drama six years ago. Robbie Brady converted his penalty; Alan Browne did not, his firm effort batted away by Dominik Greif.
Slovakia put all four of theirs past Darren Randolph - including an audacious panenka from Jan Gregus - which meant Matt Doherty had to score. He smacked a rising effort off the bar.
The full list of Irish penalty takers in Bratislava was: Conor Hourihane (scored), Brady (scored), Browne (missed) Doherty (missed).
Kelleher will definitely fancy his chances of saving at least one if it comes down to it, while Hallgrimsson was right to assert Ireland "have good takers", even if he's relaxed about prepping for it. "I think it's difficult to train for the moment, if you need to take one at the end," the boss said. "So we’ve just given players freedom if they want to exercise this. Otherwise we don’t talk much about it."
Troy Parrott made no mistake from 12 yards out against Hungary last November for the first of his three goals on the night. The Dubliner came down to earth a couple of weeks later when he fluffed a 99th-minute panenka attempt that would have earned AZ Alkmaar a draw against FC Twente.
That was the third in a row he'd missed for AZ (he was denied in games against Sparta Rotterdam and FC Utrecht earlier this season), but he has netted 24 times during his career for MK Dons, Preston, Excelsior Rotterdam, AZ and Ireland, and wouldn't shirk the responsibility.
Brady has taken 12 penalties if we are to include his time at Manchester United reserves and scored every one of them, including six for Ireland (three with the Under-21s).
Adam Idah is another one with a healthy career record: 17 taken for Ireland, Norwich, Celtic and Swansea - just one missed (for Celtic against Hearts in March 2024). Idah did have a spot-kick saved in a shootout when Celtic lost a Champions League qualifier against FC Kairat last August. He also slotted one home in the 2-1 loss at home to the Dutch in September 2023.
The sweet left foot of Ryan Manning might be trusted: he's scored 10 out of 14 penalties, with three of his misses coming during his Galway United days.
It's a little bit of a roll of the dice after that: Finn Azaz has only taken one penalty in his senior career (scored for Plymouth against Rotherham); Jayson Molumby's sole successful effort came with the Ireland Under-19s against Cyprus in 2017; while Sammie Szmodics has a very patchy record: five taken, three missed.
The silky Harvey Vale is four for four, though they all came in Under 18s/reserve team/UEFA Youth League matches.
The stakes - and pressure - at the Fortuna Arena will be off the charts. The leaders in the team (Seamus Coleman, Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea, John Egan) might be summoned to make the long walk towards the penalty spot.
Of course it's hoped Hallgrimsson's men can do the job in normal time. This is an occasion that requires no unnecessary drama.
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