So there are no question marks now. Ireland's win over Moldova means the clash against Wales will definitely be a de-facto playoff to get into the 2018 World Cup playoffs.
And perhaps it could even lead to more after Austria edged Serbia 3-2, leaving the possibility that a Georgia victory in Belgrade could open it up for Ireland (or Wales) to top the group.
But tonight, 2-0 did the job and got the three points for Martin O'Neill's side thanks to a brace from striker Daryl Murphy.
It still left something to be desired. Kevin Kilbane was at the Aviva Stadium for us and he summed up the mood and performance post-match.
"We are probably looking at this game and we could have scored a lot more goals, we could've quite easily scored four or five in this game," said Kevin.
Ireland's Daryl Murphy celebrates his first goal with teammates ©INPHO/Gary Carr
"Shane Long, the hat-trick of chances that he missed, he should have had at least two with the chances that he missed tonight. So yes, it could have been more. He might be flat himself from a personal point of view Shane Long but overall [Moldova] were never going to score. It was a comfortable enough night.
"The one thing I would say from a negative point of view is we just allowed Moldova too much in the middle third. No real pressure throughout. From 30 minutes, we went on the back foot and retreated. But they didn't have enough quality and it's going to be different in Cardiff."
Ex-Shelbourne midfielder Stuart Byrne also joined us to talk about the more lethargic aspects of Ireland's performance once the two goal lead had been established.
"I'd love to know, first of all in terms of training they did during the week. I'd also love to know what the mentality of the players was coming into this game. Was there a little bit of nervousness there? It's a big, big three or four days coming up for them. Maybe did they feel that? I don't know. I wouldn't have thought they would," he said.
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