On Thursday night, 28,981 spectators congregated within the Aviva Stadium to watch the Republic of Ireland see off Qatar in their international friendly.
There was another interested observer who was a little closer to the action.
Owen Elding just needs the i's dotted and t's crossed to get his Irish citizenship over the line. But the 20-year-old Hibernian forward is already pitching up rent free in the thoughts of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.
Even though the English-born forward is not yet eligible to don the green jersey, the national team boss called Elding into the training camp for this international window in order to integrate him into the senior set-up.
However, had circumstances been different, the ex-Sligo Rovers forward might have been in a position to make his debut against Qatar.
He was due to receive his Irish passport in April but fuel protests saw the citizenship ceremony called off, meaning his wait to becoming officially eligible for Ireland will have to wait that little bit longer.
But in an impromptu appearance in the post-match press conference on Thursday, and just before heading towards the Irish team bus, the youngster confirmed that, all going to plan, he should be available for selection for the start of the Nations League in September.
"I've got the ceremony for the naturalisation at the end of June, so possibly middle of July, end of July, it should be all sorted," Elding said.
"That's the next step. Only then I can apply for a passport, which I don't think should take so long."
Hallgrimsson's zeal to ensure Elding becomes part of the Irish playing pool was highlighted in early May.
Shortly before stepping into another press conference room for a squad announcement - that time at FAI HQ - the Ireland boss admitted he had got hold of Elding on the phone amid reports that his birth nation England were circling and interested in keeping him out of Ireland's hands.
"He did (ring me), yeah," Elding said of that early morning phonecall.
"He said he had a press conference, so he rang me and said, was it OK to tell the media that I was committed?
"Someone told me that he was going to ring me, so I knew it was coming.
"Obviously there was a bit of interest (from England), but my full focus was on club football at that moment, performing well at Hibs and whatever came, came.
"To be fair, my full focus was always getting into this national team as well. Obviously growing up in Sligo, most of my life is all I know really. Yeah, it'd be a dream to put on a green shirt."
Elding has lived in Ireland since he was six years of age when his father, striker Anthony Elding, signed for Sligo Rovers in 2013. The Yeats County is where the youngster mostly honed his skills.
Coming through the Sligo academy - either side of a spell within Longford Town's underage ranks - the junior Elding became a League of Ireland sensation last season.
Across the 2025 campaign, he scored 16 goals in all competitions for Sligo Rovers, including 12 in the league.
That form earned him the PFAI Men's Young Player of the Year award and led to something else.
By the time this January rolled around, Sligo manager John Russell confirmed to RTÉ Sport that Elding's move to Scottish Premiership side Hibernian was "inevitable".
The transfer was for a reported fee of €400,000 and Russell gave a ringing endorsement as he opined that the young forward would go "right to the very top".
Elding did not wait long to show the Edinburgh outfit what he is capable of. He would score mere seconds into his first start for Hibs and in eight appearances at the tail end of the Scottish top flight season, he helped himself to three goals.
"I really relished it," he reflected on Thursday.
"Obviously coming from Sligo, I'd done well that year, the breakout season.Then obviously it's a big step-up, the Scottish Premiership. I feel I've adapted pretty quick, and there's more to come."
A little taster if you will, and with a bit more of a kick than what was possible at Aviva Stadium.
Watching ex-St Patrick's Athletic striker Mason Melia make his Ireland senior debut on Thursday was a reminder of what might have been given Elding had duked it out at the top of the LOI scoring charts with the 18-year-old last year.
"Mason pushed me every week when I was at Sligo," Elding said.
"Obviously me and him were battling for the Young Player of the Year, top goalscorer in the league. Whenever I'd scored, I'd go on and check if Mason had scored. Then I'd find out he'd scored two.
"But yeah, it' s always good competition between us two, and then coming in and working alongside him here has been great."
The experience of being involved in Ireland senior training and then Thursday's watching brief has left him wanting the real thing.
"It's been an unbelievable experience so far. Obviously it's a bit surreal coming in at the start and seeing all the big names and a load of Premier League footballers, but to come in and get that experience of international football is massive," he said.
"I was itching to get on the pitch. Obviously I don't have the passport yet, which is unfortunate, but that should be resolved quite soon. So hopefully I'll be available soon."
His family have also been delighted for him as he makes another step in his young career.
"They're buzzing. I think, obviously, my whole family being English, they would have liked me to play for England, but me obviously growing up in the country for so long, it's all I've ever known so it's what I wanted to do," Elding said.
And Sligo remains close to his heart. He was at Tallaght Stadium the previous Friday to watch his old team-mates shock Shamrock Rovers.
And the club followed him into Ireland training in another way with a certain Séamus Coleman in the flesh providing a glowing example of how Sligo Rovers can propel a young player to great heights at club and international level.
"Yeah, Séamus is a great guy, obviously working alongside him now for the last week and hopefully next week as well, you learn loads off him," Elding said of the ex-Everton captain.
"He's a proper professional and he'll lead you the right way."
