IRELAND’S GOALLESS DRAW with Bulgaria has consigned them to being third seeds in next month’s World Cup qualifier draw, making an already daunting task even more difficult.
Only 13 European sides qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The 10 group winners of the traditional qualifying groups will go through, along with three sides who navigate the play-offs. The play-offs are set up a la the Euro 2020 playoffs, with four sides playing in two one-legged semi-finals before then squaring off in the finals.
The 10 runners-up in the groups will qualify for the play-offs, and they will be joined by the two best ranked Nations League group winners who don’t qualify via the traditional qualifiers. Note it’s only group winners – there’s no backdoor route for Ireland this time.
There will be five groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. Belgium, France, Italy and Spain are guaranteed to be in the five-team groups as dates have been set aside for their participation in the Nations League finals.
The draw takes place on 7 December.
Ireland will be draw against one side from each of the below pots, with a nightmare draw possible, and given Stephen Kenny’s luck so far, we might go so far as saying it’s probable.
Pot 1: Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands
Pot 2: Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania
Pot 3: Russia, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Finland
Pot 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg
Pot 5: Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Latvia, Andorra
Pot 6: Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, San Marino
We make it that the nightmare draw for Ireland would be France, Switzerland, Bosnia, and Armenia.
The best-case would be comically familiar: Denmark, Slovakia, Georgia, Andorra, and San Marino.
