For most of this Republic of Ireland squad a trip to Japan and Korea would mean a first major championships final, a well-deserved and much-needed chance to live and learn among the world's best for a chunk of next year's summer holidays, according to Roy Keane.

Keane has made it obvious enough how deeply his own desire to reach another World Cup runs and Steve Staunton insisted yesterday as he struggled to recover his fitness ahead of this afternoon's game in Tehran, that he's another of the veterans who has lost none of his hunger for outings on the biggest footballing stage of them all.

"The World Cup is the pinnacle," he says. "Whether it's your first, your second, your fourth, your fifth or your sixth, it doesn't matter, the excitement is still there. For most of the younger lads it would be an entirely new experience but I've gone twice and I can tell you, I certainly want to go again."

Staunton knows better than to presume that Saturday's result means qualification is in the bag. But, he says: "The players know what to do. They know how to play the game, so we'll see. If it all comes together, brilliant. If it doesn't then I'll accept that and get over it." The game, he says, should be a tightly-fought affair with the Irish needing to close their opponents down with more urgency, perhaps, than they did at times in Dublin. "The air makes a difference for a start, because (with the altitude) the ball really flies here and you can't give them the chance to get the shot in.

"It's easy to tell the difference with the conditions because you don't have to try nearly so hard when you kick the ball but I think it's something that we'll get used to very quickly so I don't see it being that much of a factor."

The important, thing, he insists, is that he and the rest of the Irish team keep their heads and perform with the same composure that they have done do far over the course of this campaign.

"We know they can play and that they will be full of confidence but we know we can too. I think the lads have coped very well. They have handled everything so far, everything that has been thrown at them. Even on Saturday," he adds.

"That could have been the nerve-racking scenario which it has been in the previous campaigns but we have come through the home leg better than in the last two. If we can have one of the performances from the away legs now we'll be delighted with that.

"We won't need champagne, Guinness or anything else to celebrate. We will be high enough as it is."