England
WITHOUT A doubt, the toughest team Ireland could have drawn from Pot 1, with Austria, Czech Republic and Wales the other possibilities.
England are competing in League B following their relegation during the Nations League 2022-23 campaign, picking up just three points in six games against Italy, Hungary and Germany.
However, they came good when it mattered most, winning all but two of their Euro 2024 qualifiers and finishing six points ahead of the second-place Italians.
It will be the first competitive fixture between the sides since the Euro ’92 qualifiers, while Ireland will be hoping to secure a first win against the Three Lions since Euro ’88.
There have been seven matches since the famous victory in Stuttgart. England’s 3-0 victory during the Stephen Kenny era was their only triumph, five others ended in draws while one 1995 friendly in Lansdowne Road was abandoned with the hosts leading 1-0.
Exactly what shape the England team will be in going into the first round of fixtures in September is not easy to predict.
They will be among the favourites to prevail at this summer’s Euros, but there is potential for a post-tournament hangover, regardless of how they perform at the tournament. A lack of motivation certainly seems to explain why they fared so poorly in the last incarnation of the Nations League, with the majority of the fixtures coming at the end of a long, hard 2021-22 season.
Gareth Southgate may not be in charge for the Ireland game, with reports across the water suggesting he will step down after the Euros, so it is conceivable that the fixtures will feature two relatively recently appointed managers.
Either way, facing a team with arguably the best midfielder in the world (Jude Bellingham) and one of the best strikers (Harry Kane) will be a tall order.
Finland
Aside from Ireland, ostensibly the weakest team in the group, as suggested by the fact that they are the lowest-ranked team in the group — again, except for Ireland.
59th-ranked Finland have met the Boys in Green twice in the Nations League before, winning both encounters 1-0 during the early Covid-ravaged days of the Stephen Kenny era in 2020.
Their last Nations League campaign saw them finish second behind Bosnia and Herzegovina and ahead of both Montenegro and relegated Romania.
Like Ireland, they had a disappointing Euros qualification campaign, finishing third in their group, albeit just four points separated the top four, with Denmark and Slovenia qualifying, and the Finnish side coming ahead of Kazhakstan owing to a superior goal difference (Northern Ireland and San Marino were the also-rans in that group).
Unlike Ireland though, they could still potentially compete in the Euros.
The Finnish team have advanced to the play-offs and are away to Wales in the semi-finals and potentially have a subsequent home tie against either Poland or Estonia.
From an Irish fans’ perspective, their best-known player is probably former Norwich striker Teemu Pukki, their all-time record goalscorer.
The 33-year-old, who has 39 goals from 118 caps, is now on the books at Minnesota United and was one of five US-based players selected in their last squad.
Boys in Green supporters may also be familiar with Glen Kamara, the former Rangers midfielder, who has been appearing regularly in the Championship with Leeds United this season.
Highly rated 18-year-old full-back Tomas Galvez, currently on the books at Man City, is also likely to be a key player in the future, having won two caps already.
Other squad members are scattered across Europe — there were just two Finnish-based players in their most recent selection, with Germany, Italy, Scotland, Romania, Poland, Greece, Sweden, Norway and Czech Republic the other countries represented.
Greece
A team already very familiar to Irish fans, having picked up deserved 2-1 and 2-0 victories against the Boys in Green in the Euro qualifiers.
Like England, the future of their manager is mired in uncertainty.
Gus Poyet has even recently suggested he is interested in the vacant Ireland job and indicated he will leave his role as Greece manager after the March playoffs regardless of whether or not they qualify for the Euros.
So Ireland will likely be facing a Poyet-less Greece when the sides meet later this year.
The Greeks, who are ranked 47th in the world, 13 places above Ireland, do still appear to have a decent chance of making the Euros this summer, given that it is not exactly a daunting pathway to get there.
They host Kazakhstan in the play-off semi-final on 21 March before potentially travelling to face either Georgia or Luxembourg five days later.
Before Euro qualifying, they managed to gain promotion from League C, finishing top of their group ahead of Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, the only team to beat them in that group.
From an Irish perspective, their best-known player is Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas, but they had six other British-based players in their most recent squad — Odysseas Vlachodimos (Nottingham Forest), Dinos Mavropanos (West Ham), Dimitris Giannoulis (Norwich City), George Baldock (Sheffield United), Dimitris Goutas and Manolis Siopis (both Cardiff City).
One of their biggest threats will probably be 30-year-old Olympiacos striker Giorgos Masouras, who scored in both qualifiers against Ireland last time out and was the second-top scorer overall in the group with five goals, only bettered by Kylian Mbappe’s nine.
Their captain, 30-year-old Panathinaikos midfielder Tasos Bakasetas was also among the most impressive performers in both games and with 63 caps, was the most experienced player to feature in their last squad.
