Nations League draw as it happened: Republic of Ireland drawn with England in their group

That’s the draw then. The big story is obviously Ireland facing England. Ireland played England last in November 2020 when they were beaten 3-0 under Stephen Kenny. Before that Ireland hadn’t actually lost to England since 1985 before Jack Charlton arrived. There was the famous victory in Euro 88 but they drew five straight times from 1990 to 2013.

Whoever the next Ireland manager is would happily take two draws this time against Gareth Southgate’s star-studded line-up. Finland and Greece won’t be easy either. The matches in the Nations League begin in September 2024.

League B Group 2

England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece

League C Group 3

Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus

Juan Mata to present the final league, League A, completing the Premier League footballer line-up.

League A

Group 1

Croatia

Portugal

Poland

Scotland

Group 2

Italy

Belgium

France

Israel

Group 3

Netherlands

Hungary

Germany

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group 4

Spain

Denmark

Switzerland

Serbia

Tasty group there in Group 2. Scotland with a tricky group too, would be happy to stay up from that I imagine.

Republic of Ireland is up next in League B. Next up to present is Aleksandar Kolarov, former Manchester City full-back. All former Premier League so far.

Group 1

Czechia

Ukraine

Albania

Georgia

Group 2

England

Finland

Republic of Ireland

Greece

Group 3

Austria

Norway

Slovenia

Kazakhstan

Group 4

Wales

Iceland

Montenegro

Turkey

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Ireland get England then! And Greece, Finland. What a draw that is. Tough one, but a lot of interest in it. Chance for revenge against Greece also after the Euros qualifiers.

Now Giorgos Karagounis, formerly of Fulham is up to present League C draw. Four different players for the four different leagues and an interview with them all. Uefa don’t like to do it quickly. Northern Ireland are in this league.

League C:

Group 1

Sweden

Azerbaijan

Slovakia

Estonia

Group 2

Romania

Kosovo

Cyprus

Winner of Lithuania/Gibraltar

Group 3

Luxembourg

Bulgaria

Northern Ireland

Belarus

Group 4

Armenia

Faroe Islands

North Macedonia

Latvia

Northern Ireland get Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus then. Not the easiest group in League C but none of the teams are world beaters.

The League D draw is first:

Group 1

Losers of Gibraltar/Lithuania

San Marino

Liechtenstein

Group 2

Moldova

Malta

Andorra

Michael Obafemi’s screamer against Scotland makes the compilation video building up the draw, lets hope for more of that next campaign. To draw the balls, former Latvia and Southampton striker Marians Pahars comes to the stage. Some nostalgia there.

Ireland won’t have a manager in time for the draw, the FAI had hoped to have the position filled by now. 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. Paul Cooke and Jonathan Hill are in Paris, and voted earlier on Uefa amendments.

Here are all the pots for the draw:

League A pots

Pot 1 Spain, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands

Pot 2 Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary

Pot 3 Switzerland, Germany, Poland, France

Pot 4 Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Scotland

League B pots

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.

League C pots

Pot 1 Romania, Sweden, Armenia, Luxembourg

Pot 2 Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands

Pot 3 North Macedonia, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Cyprus

Pot 4 Belarus, Lithuania/Gibraltar*, Estonia, Latvia

League D pots

Pot 1 Lithuania/Gibraltar*, Moldova

Pot 2 Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein

Nations League explained 2024/25: 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.

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.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Uefa Nations League draw taking place in Paris at 5pm Irish time. It is live on Uefa’s official website, YouTube channel and app. Ireland are in League B, the second of four divisions. 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.

Ireland cannot be drawn in a group with England/Wales and Kazakhstan due to travelling distance. Otherwise there are no restrictions, and of course one name stands out above all – England. That would be a good moneymaker for the FAI, but also a very tough draw – Bellingham, Kane, Foden et al coming to the Aviva.

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