Late this afternoon in the frayed city of Tehran in the overfilled Azadi Stadium, the hopes of two passionate nations intersect beautifully. No war, no enmity, no history, just the yearning which Ireland and Iran have to return to the World Cup.
For Ireland it has been eight years, for Iran just four, but when the sides eyeball each other they recognise the familiar hunger in each others faces. The same desperate need is underpinned by differing reasons. Iranian liberals believe that the exposure to the outside world which a World Cup adventure brings will hasten reforms; for the Irish, this represents the fourth time in succession that the team has reached the cusp of a major tournament. The last three attempts to cross over to the big time ended in failure.
Some would say the auguries are good. The first leg of the game played last Saturday in Dublin yielded Ireland a two-goal advantage to bring into today's game. At the time that looked like a comfortable lead to travel with, but the withdrawal of Roy Keane and other injury worries suggest this afternoon could be long and fretful. The Irish team has been upbeat in a bored way all week. Yesterday they trained twice just to kill the boredom. In between they slept, they ate, they dodged the media.
Last evening they trained briefly in the cavernous surroundings of this afternoon's venue. A couple of thousand Iranian fans joined the party, giving a small preview of the decibel level which will be encountered. It was impressive.
In the team hotel, Mick McCarthy allowed himself a rare moment of reminiscence, recalling the scene in Valetta, Malta, when Ireland qualified for their first World Cup on this very day 12 years ago.
"I remember the feeling, absolute joy, elation, celebration, just that happy contented feeling," and he checked himself suddenly. "I remember that but I remember two years ago and four years ago how I felt. Really I know that anything could happen. I'd be stupid to believe otherwise, but I'm quietly confident in my team."
The match begins at 2 p.m. Irish time and will be transmitted live on Network 2, BBC 2 and Eurosport.