Republic of Ireland suffered heartbreak in the 2010 World Cup playoffs as they were beaten by the infamous 'Hand of Frog' goal in Paris in 2009, when Thierry Henry clearly controlled the ball with his hand before crossing for William Gallas to score for France what proved to be the decisive goal.
This week they once again face a two legged knockout match to qualify for a major tournament and the whole nation is keen to avoid any similar heartbreak when Giovanni Trapattoni's side take on Estonia.
Ireland are in the fortunate position of playing their away match first this time and they will be acutely aware of the position of strength France were in two years ago, having won at Croke Park. It was 1-0 to Les Bleus that night and that is exactly the score that Trapattoni will be looking to secure in Tallinn on Friday evening.
The Italian will be confident that his players will be able to keep a clean sheet in Estonia, having conceded just one goal on their travels in Group B and kept clean sheets in Russia, Armenia, Macedonia and Andorra. The latter may not be particularly impressive but the first three teams are arguably at least the equal of Estonia, who have surpassed expectations to reach this stage.
Given Ireland's meanness in defence in recent years, it is a surprise to see a clean sheet for the visitors as big as 6/4 with
Paddy Power, particularly with the same firm offering 7/5 that Trapattoni's side win in Tallinn. The side will be set up to contain the hosts and try to sneak a goal on the break and it seems very unlikely that they will manage a victory if they concede a goal as the manager would no doubt be content to settle for a 1-1 draw (11/2,
Ladbrokes) and then attempt to beat Estonia at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday.
The one problem for Ireland is going to be scoring goals. Robbie Keane, who is 11/2 at
Coral to open the scoring, is playing in America with LA Galaxy and, as England fans know, that is not nearly competitive enough to be trusted at international level. The former Spurs striker has also been off colour for his country for a while and missed several opportunities in his last match, against Andorra.
Kevin Doyle is suspended on Friday, Shane Long is injured and Leon Best is unavailable so it will be either Jon Walters (7/1,
Sky Bet) or Simon Cox (15/2, Sky Bet) partnering Keane in Tallinn. Neither is particularly prolific at club level and between them they have scored two goals in 11 appearances for Ireland.
That will give Estonia hope that they keep the visitors at bay and it is 12/5 at
Boylesports that the home side cause something of an upset on Friday. A draw is 11/5 at
totesport with a 0-0 draw a 7/1 chance at Ladbrokes.
However, one would expect that Ireland can sneak a goal, with Aiden McGeady (12/1,
bet365) and Damien Duff (12/1, Paddy Power) both capable of chipping in from midfield and the likes of Richard Dunne (25/1, Sky Bet) and John O'Shea (40/1, Boylesports) dangerous from set pieces. It is 11/2 at Ladbrokes that the visitors manage a 1-0 victory and 10/1 with the same firm that they win 2-0. Covering both should ensure a better price than the 13/5 at Paddy Power on an Irish win to nil.