Nations League draw: Who could Republic of Ireland face?

What is the Nations League?

The Nations League, if you haven’t been paying much attention over the past few years, features all 54 Uefa member associations in four leagues, based on their previous results. Each team plays six matches in their group of four, one home and one away against the other three nations in the group. Promotion and relegation features and, as Ireland have found out regarding Euro 2024, poor performance is costly. Results impact on seeding for qualifiers and playoffs for international tournaments.

Where is it on?

The draw is in Paris on Thursday, February 8th at 5pm Irish time. It is live on Uefa’s official website, YouTube channel and app.

What league are Ireland in?

Ireland are in League B, the second of four divisions. They have remained there since 2018 at the advent of the Nations League, although benefiting from a restructure that led to them avoiding relegation in the inaugural season. In their last campaign in 2022/23, Ireland finished third in their group behind Scotland and Ukraine, but avoided relegation to League C as they finished ahead of Armenia.

Who else is in League B?

One name stands out above all – England. The Three Lions surprisingly flopped in the last Nations League and got relegated despite having some of the best players in the world. A draw with Ireland’s illustrious neighbours would be a good money-maker for the FAI and for good for storylines, but they are the clear team to avoid ability-wise. A dream draw might be Czechia, Iceland and Kazakhstan. A nightmare draw might be England, Norway and Turkey. Having lost home and away to Greece in Euro 2024 qualifiers, Ireland won’t be in a rush to play them either.

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Each group will feature a side drawn from each pot. Ireland are in pot number three.

Pot 1: Austria, Czechia, England, Wales

Pot 2: Finland, Ukraine, Iceland, Norway

Pot 3: Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, Montenegro

Pot 4: Georgia, Greece, Turkey, Kazakhstan.

[ Kevin Kilbane: In 2014 Lee Carsley and I got a close-up view of how John Delaney’s FAI worked ]

What are the dates for the 2024/25 Nations League?

The games will take place between September and November 2024. With Ireland failing to qualify for the Euros, they will be the most meaningful matches they play this calendar year.

Matchday 1: September 5th to 7th, 2024

Matchday 2: September 8th to 10th, 2024

Matchday 3: October 10th to 12th, 2024

Matchday 4: October 13th to 15th, 2024

Matchday 5: November 14th to 16th, 2024

Matchday 6: November 17th to 19th, 2024

Will a new Ireland manager be there for the draw?

[ FAI have their ‘appropriate candidate’ in Lee Carsley - now the question is whether they can seal the deal ]

No, they won’t. Ireland had hoped to have the position filled by the time of the draw. It is believed that Lee Carsley is still the preferred candidate, but negotiations have stalled over financial terms. A FAI delegation will represent Ireland at the draw.

Anything else to look out for?

More matches. Previously only the top team in the group got promoted and the bottom team got relegated. Now there are promotion/relegation playoffs for second- and third-place teams in League B. Should Ireland finish second in their group, they will play third place in one of League A’s groups for a chance of promotion. Should Ireland finish third in their group, they will play a second place in Group C to avoid relegation. These matches will be two-legged and be played from March 20th to 25th, 2025.

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