World Cup excitement will be felt most keenly throughout Ireland tomorrow night by French and Italian people who will gather in houses, pubs and restaurants to watch the match.
In Galway, the manager of the Trattoria Pasta Mista restaurant, Sean Magnetti, has given his Italian staff members the night off.
They will have the option of joining about 50 of Mr Magnetti's family and friends to watch the match.
"We'll be painting our faces and getting out the Italian flags," he says. "If we win, we'll celebrate the way Galway always does and go out into the street."
Just down the road, the staff of Pierre's French restaurant will be watching the game at work. A small television set has been set up out of sight in the kitchen.
"We'll have to contain our joy, and not shout loudly and disturb the customers," says chef Philippe Bertin. He's certain of a French win.
"I haven't been wrong yet. I predicted we'd win against Spain, Brazil, and I said it would be close against Portugal."
In Dublin there are likely to be flags on the streets. Italian and French fans have been converging on city-centre pubs for the matches leading up to the final.
The manager of Sinnott's pub on South King Street says he has had to close his doors an hour before kick-off at some games to prevent overcrowding. He is expecting tomorrow to be the busiest night yet.
Staff members of French recruitment specialists Approach People have followed their national team on a television set installed in the offices for the tournament. They will meet in the city centre to watch the final.
"In our heads we've already won," says managing director Laurent Girard-Claudon. "We're just wondering how we will get up on Monday morning."
Marta Lettieri, a graphic designer based in Dublin, will be joining Italian friends in Temple Bar. "All I'm thinking about now is how dangerous the French are. The way football is in Italy at the moment, we need to win."
The anticipation has spread to the finalists' embassies in Dublin.
Having won against Portugal on Wednesday, a number of staff at the French embassy swapped their shirts for football jerseys. Embassy spokesman Gwendal Souset regrets that there are no celebrations planned. "We've been caught by surprise," he says. "But there has been a very positive atmosphere here in the embassy."
At the Italian embassy, there is an air of quiet excitement.
"We're all talking about it," says Roberto, an embassy employee. "We have been waiting 24 years for this, and we have a very big chance of winning this time."