When the Republic of Ireland last played England in Dublin 20 years ago, the match was abandoned midway through the first-half because of rioting by visiting fans. Forty people were arrested after seats were ripped up and missiles thrown in the old Lansdowne Road ground.
While the authorities are not expecting something similar to happen when the countries resume their rivalry in the refurbished Aviva Stadium on Sunday, security will be heightened to an extent that the focus will not so much be about football as the behavior of England fans and how both sets of supporters will treat each other's national anthem.
Martin O'Neill and Roy Hodgson will use the friendly to fine tune their sides for next weekend's Euro 2016 ties against Scotland and Slovenia, respectively. It is matters off the pitch that have largely dominated the build-up to the game in the Irish capital and England has been restricted to 3,000 tickets because of a deterioration in the behavior of traveling supporters recently.