There appeared to be real doubt on Saturday morning whether the fixture would take place.
A pre-match news conference with manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player, scheduled for 09:15 BST, was postponed just 15 minutes before it was due to start, with reporters informed it would instead take place after the team's training session.
That training session, scheduled for 10:00 BST, also came and went with the team still in their hotel where reporters relocated in anticipation of a statement.
The players were locked in a meeting, with unconfirmed reports that several players, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, expressed their wish to withdraw from the game leading to questions whether the game would go ahead.
Around 13:00 BST, players began to filter out of the meeting room with it then confirmed the news conference would indeed go ahead, back at Nagyerdei Stadion at 14:30 with training to follow.
Over five hours after the initial news conference was due to begin, Football Association of Ireland [FAI] CEO David Courell - flanked by Hallgrimsson and FAI Director of Football - confirmed a players' vote passed by a significant majority to play the game.
