The draw has been made.
The Republic of Ireland have discovered their qualification group for Euro 2020. The Uefa draw was held at the Convention Centre in Dublin on Sunday morning. Mick McCarthy’s side were in pot 3 for the draw, and once again they will play against Denmark.
The new Ireland manager will step down from his post following the culmination of the Euro 2020 campaign when he will be replaced by the new Under-21 coach Stephen Kenny.
McCarthy’s remit is extremely simple – get Ireland to the Euros.
“I've always found winning football is generally the best” https://t.co/xpUPDynuXR
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 26, 2018
While it is always disappointing when Ireland miss out on a major tournament, there is some extra incentive to reach this one.
Euro 2020 will be hosted by 12 different cities throughout Europe – Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg – and four of the games will be held at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
If Ireland reach the tournament, they will play two group games in Dublin.
So, the stakes are high and Ireland aren’t exactly in great form. They haven’t won a competitive game since October 2017 and were relegated from their Uefa Nations League group.
However, with a new manager and some renewed optimism around the team, it’s possible they could see an upturn in form next year. It also helps that 24 of Uefa’s 55 nations will qualify for the tournament.
The qualification groups begin at the end of March.
Ireland have been drawn in a group with Switzerland, Denmark, Georgia, Gibraltar.
Here’s the full draw:
Group A
England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo.
Group B
Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg.
Group C
Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus.
Group D
Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar.
Group E
Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan.
Group F
Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta.
Group G
Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia.
Group H
France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra.
Group I
Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino.
Group J
Italy, Bosnia, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein.
