The journey to Prague is well underway, with waves of Irish supporters traveling through Dublin Airport, flying to Prague ahead of tonight’s clash.
Thousands are already on site, lighting Irish pubs up in the Czech capital. Far more fans will gather in the city centre than inside the Fortuna Arena, where just around 1,200 tickets have been allocated to Irish supporters in a stadium that holds roughly 20,000.
More than a dozen flights have departed from Dublin for Czechia this week – nearly half of them added to meet demand.
Radio Nova's very own reporter, usually out and aqbout in the streets of Dublin, headed to the airport this morning to interview fans boarding two flights to Prague early this morning. They were all buzzing to be a part of the big match tonight - having secured tickets, or not...
@radionova100fm Go on you boys in Green ⚽ Where will you watch the game tonight? 👀 #FAI #irelandfootball #worldcup ♬ Dearg Doom - Horslips
One die-hard fan told Nova all about how she's been supporting our boys in green, both at home and for away games for over 35 years : 'I was in Italy in 1990, and in the States in 94. To be here for what could be a momentous night is just going to be magical.'
'Having been abroad for quite a few away games, there's absolutely nothing like the Irish on tour. To get to experience that again all tehse years later is a real bonus.'
Another pair of fans, father and son, expressed their excitment about flying to Prague today: 'It's a fantastic opportunity. It's once in a lifetime so, we're really looking forward to it.'
These fans are so confident in the boys in green's ability to beat Czechia, they've already secured their tickets for the next game. 'We've tickets for next Tuesday. We're hoping we'll get back for another shot at it on Tuesday night.'
It will take place in the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday, 31 March - that's provided Ireland beats Czechia tonight and qualifies for the rest of the World Cup run.
Two friends on the 8:30 am Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Prague today expressed their disappointment in the Czech stadium only releasing 1,200 tickets for Irish fans, in a stadium that holds roughly 20,000.
'We were assuming we probably would have sold out the whole stadium ourselves to 20,000 if we had a chance. It's unfortunate we only got 1,000 tickets.'
Thousands of Irish fans have already descended on Prague, turning the city green ahead of kick-off. Now, all that’s left is for the team to deliver on the pitch.
It’s D-Day for Ireland – and everything is on the line.
A win tonight would send Ireland into the next play-off round, where they would face the winners of Denmark vs North Macedonia.
Victory would also keep alive Ireland’s dream of qualifying for their first World Cup since 2002, marking a major turning point for the national team under their current manager.
However, defeat would bring that dream to an abrupt end.
