THE REPUBLIC OF Ireland still have aspirations of qualifying for Euro 2020 later this year, but they briefly turn their attention to the second edition of the Uefa Nations League tomorrow.
Despite finishing bottom of their group — behind Denmark and Wales — in the inaugural staging of the competition, the Boys in Green were handed one-off play-off match away to Slovakia (26 March).
If they prevail, either Northern Ireland or Bosnia & Herzegovina await in a play-off final (1 April) for a place at this summer’s European championships, which is being held in 12 cities including Dublin.
Ireland’s third-place finish also meant relegation to League C, but that was reversed in September when Uefa decided to expand the tournament format.
As a result, Ireland remain in League B for the 2020/21 campaign and they have been placed in Pot 3 for the group draw, which takes place in Amsterdam tomorrow (5pm Irish time).
Teams will be split into groups of four and the nations that Ireland could meet are Russia, Austria, Wales, the Czech Republic, Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland, Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary and Romania.
Current Ireland U21 manager Stephen Kenny will have taken over by the time the group games come around in September, October and November of this year.
Here are the pots in full:
League A
- Pot 1: Portugal, Netherlands, England, Switzerland
- Pot 2: Belgium, France, Spain, Italy
- Pot 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden
- Pot 4: Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland
League B
- Pot 1: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
- Pot 2: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland
- Pot 3: Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
- Pot 4: Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania
League C
- Pot 1: Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia
- Pot 2: North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Cyprus
- Pot 3: Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
- Pot 4: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova
League D
- Pot 1: Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein
- Pot 2: Andorra, Malta, San Marino
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