Finland, who qualified for Euro 2020, are also struggling and it’s a mixture of poor results and a late kick-off for the tomorrow’s tie (9.45pm local time) that which has left locals with little appetite for the game. The Finns have started this campaign, like Ireland, with back-to-back defeats and no goals scored. Only 15,000 tickets have been sold for the 37,000-capacity Olympic Stadium, with around 1,000 away fans expected.

“That time, 9.45pm, is a challenging time. It would have been good to see if the fixtures had gone the other way, how would that have affected the number of spectators. The game against England was sold out quickly, people want to see the superstars,” Finland captain Lukas Hradecky explained.