Ireland’s UEFA ranking in November of this year will determine where they are classified in the new UEFA Nations League. And how they perform in the new competition beginning next year could have a major bearing on the Boys in Green’s chances of appearing at EURO 2020 on home soil in Dublin.
Grandson studio have produced two prints for the upcoming Gibraltar V Ireland qualifier in our ongoing Euro 2016 Matchday Poster series.
Irish supporters never made it to Tbilisi when the Republic faced Georgia under Giovanni Trapatonni. Political instability moved the World Cup qualifier to Mainz, Germany. Last weekend, as the green jerseys touched down beneath the Caucuses Mountains, Tbilisi-based Mory Cunningham wondered if it was just another away match location or if the fans felt further East in this still emerging nation of stark contrasts?
UEFA will announce the 13 countries to host Euro 2020 on September 19 in Geneva. The Football Association of Ireland will only need to see off six rivals in its bid to host games at the multi-nation finals with 13 to be chosen from just 19 formal applications. With Scotland, Wales, and England also in the running, there’s plenty of regional competition for the capital but the Irish are confident of success this time around despite various hurdles, including football’s usual seedy politics apparently scuppering us in the past.
UEFA members have unanimously backed a move for a new Nations League tournament to replace international friendlies starting in 2018. Ireland are likely to face the likes of Croatia and Sweden but with the incentive of promotion to face the continent’s top sides.
After his unveiling as Irish boss, Martin O’Neill spoke of unearthing a hidden 17-year-old gem that would take the Irish team by storm. When naming his squad to face Serbia, the Derryman lamented that he had yet to find one, but when Noel King’s U21s take on Montenegro in a vital Euro qualifier, it could be teenage kicks that get the Republic through the night.
They’re the newest nation in UEFA and in a first qualifying campaign have drawn the might of the Germans, along with the Irish, Scots, Poles and Georgians. Daniel Griffin from footballgibraltar gives us the reaction to what stands between the Rock and a Euro place.
With the Euro 2016 draw taking place in Nice on Sunday, and Ireland among the second seeds, qualification for France should be easier, in theory. But a look at some of the lower ranked teams suggests Martin O’Neill has plenty of work on his hands.
The UEFA Champions League matchball, the Finale, was inspired by the skyline and rooftops of Lisbon, the host city for this year’s final.
Ireland could be reunited with France in Euro 2016 qualifying with UEFA set to include the hosts in the draw, though they will still retain an automatic spot at the finals.