Ireland have been resigned to a place in the Euro 2020 play-offs after a 1-1 ldraw with old rivals Denmark in Dublin tonight.
Mick McCarthy's men were buoyed on by a raucous crowd at the Aviva Stadium, and looked to be the better side for a good portion of the first half.
They started even better for the second, but couldn't put away a number of chances.
And when Martin Braithewaite broke free of the Irish defence after 73 minutes to touch home Henrik Dalsgaard's cross that came back to haunt them.
Despite a late onslaught towards the Danish goal, that did yield an equaliser through Matt Doherty, Ireland couldn't find their way to the two necessary goals needed to earn an automatic spot at the Euros, and now head for the qualifiers.
Here are 5 things we learned from the game:
1. Ireland can play some great football with confidence
Regardless of tonight's result, Mick McCarthy really seems to have instilled a new mentality into his men since taking over from Martin O'Neill late last year.
It showed at a number of times this evening as there was some really great link-up play in the attacking third that led to some great chances, from a team who only two years ago were beaten 5-1 by tonight's opponents.
It's a promising sign of things to come, and there is certainly cause for optimism .
2. We played our best back four tonight
Richard Keogh's unfortunate injury earlier this month consolidated John Egan's place in the Ireland starting 11, and despite coming off injured at half time, he showed that he deserves that place.
Ciaran Clark is as solid a replacement you could get, but when everybody, including Keogh, is fully fit, Egan should start alongside Duffy, Stevens and Doherty.
Matt Doherty and Enda Stevens were impressive in their roles, including a lovely goal for the Wolves man.
3. David McGoldrick is the first choice striker
The Sheffield United man was immense up front on his own, and showed that Mick McCarthy was right to praise him so highly in the pre-match press conference.
Sure, Maguire and Robinson scored against New Zealand, but if we insist on playing with just one up top it will half to be McGoldrick in future.
4. Alan Browne deserves his spot
The Preston North End playmaker's inclusion may have left some fans bewildered before the game, but he showed some great touches in the final third.
He had a big effort from 25 yards that wasn't a mile off and the Cork native did very well when he got a bit of space on the ball.
The midfielder should definitely be in contention to start in future.
5. McCarthy's men need to wake up earlier
We play some great football under Mick McCarthy, but it took Denmark just one proper chance to score and force us down into the dreaded play-offs.
There were a number of good chances, particularly Conor Hourihane in the first half, for Ireland to take advantage of their dominance, but they seem to lack the killer edge before Denmark took the lead.
This seems to be a recurring problem where we really push the pace only after going behind.
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