Another beautiful night.
We did it the hard way but then again, would you expect anything else from the Irish? After all the permutations, ifs and buts, we're headed for the World Cup play-offs after being written off and then turning around and beating Wales in their own backyard.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/917497054242406400
Jeff Hendrick's piece of wizardry on the right wing was something else, how the ball managed to stay in play is beyond us, but it did.
Hendrick might have spotted Harry Arter on the edge of the box but Arter had other ideas, a quick hop and a jump and the ball flew between his legs and landed at the feet of James McClean.
How he didn't form a ball-shaped hole in the bottom of the Wales net is still a mystery. It was a bullet of a shot and as he wheeled away in celebration, the Irish faithful held their collective breath for the remainder of the game.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/917490302365073408
We all raced to our phones to see how the Serbia game was going and although the best case scenario has gone out the window, we would have taken both of your arms if you had given us the option of a play-off place at the start of the game.
As it stands, the eight play-off teams would be:
- Ireland
- Italy
- Denmark
- Northern Ireland
- Portugal/Switzerland
- Sweden
- Greece/Bosnia
- Croatia
Of those eight teams, the top four will be seeded based on the FIFA world ranking system which will be updated on 17 October.
Currently,
Ireland are 34th in the ranking. The only other team that remain ranked lower than them in the play-offs is Greece.
This would mean that, currently, they are unseeded and face a tougher draw.
The highest ranked sides right now of those eight play-off teams are Northern Ireland, Italy, Croatia and either Portugal or Switzerland. However, those positions could change when the rankings are updated.
It's important to note that Northern Ireland (20th) are potential opponents of Ireland but that's based off the old rankings system. They've lost their last two qualifier games whilst Denmark (25th) are just behind them and will likely leapfrog them by the time the playoffs are drawn.
Playing Northern Ireland would therefore most likely not be an option for Ireland once the rankings are updated.
Who Ireland can draw:
- Italy
- Croatia
- Portugal/Switzerland
- Denmark/Northern Ireland
Portugal and Switzerland play on Tuesday night for a shootout for the top spot. If Portugal win, they're straight through to Russia. If Portugal don't win, they're in the playoffs.
The play-off first legs will be played between the 9 and the 11 of November with the return legs on between the 12 and 14.
