The best and worst Uefa Nations League draws Ireland can get

Robert Redmond

Here are the best and worst Nations league draws Ireland can get.

The Uefa Nations League draw takes place on Thursday, December 16 and the Republic of Ireland are in ‘Pot 3’ of ‘League B.’

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny will be hoping that the team can carry their recent form into the competition, which begins next June.

The Nations League, now in its third edition, has not been kind to the Boys in Green. Ireland have failed to win a match in the tournament and have scored just two goals across two campaigns. They only avoided relegation last year due to Bulgaria’s inferior goal difference.

Yet, after a difficult start under Kenny, Ireland, currently ranked 47th in the world, appear to have turned a corner. Here are the best and worst draws the team can get. The draw takes place at 5 pm Irish time on Thursday.

Uefa Nations League and Euro 2024.

Before examining the permutations, it is worth noting the link between the Nations League and Euro 2024.

In previous editions of the tournament, teams who did not qualify automatically for the European Championships were given a playoff place based on their performance in the Nations League.

This may happen again for the 2022-23 tournament, but Uefa have yet to confirm the criteria for deciding the Euro 2024 playoffs. They are expected to make a decision in June.

So, the Nations League could offer Ireland a chance to secure a playoff place for Euro 2024.

Uefa Nations League draw.

Ireland are in ‘League B’ of the Uefa Nations draw. Each league contains four pots, with each pot containing four teams. The groups will feature a team from each respective pot. And the pots are based on Uefa rankings.

Ireland have been placed in ‘Pot 3’, alongside Israel, Romania and Serbia. Kenny’s team, therefore, cannot be drawn against these nations. The four group winners will be promoted to ‘League A’, which features the 16 top-ranked teams in Europe.

Here are the ‘League B’ pots for the draw.

Pot 1: Ukraine, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland.

Pot 2: Finland, Norway, Scotland, Russia.

Pot 3: Israel, Romania, Serbia, Ireland.

Pot 4: Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, Armenia.

Uefa Nations League: Worst draw for Ireland.

Based on current world rankings and recent form, here is the worst group Ireland could be drawn in:

Sweden
Russia
Ireland
Albania

Sweden are ranked in 18th place in the world and were on course to automatically qualify for the 2022 World Cup ahead of Spain until they suffered a shock defeat to Georgia and lost to the Spanish in November.

They are a talented, experienced team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the last-16 of Euro 2020. Sweden, with players such as Emil Forsberg, Dejan Kulusevski and Alexander Isak, would be favourites for any matches against Ireland.

Ireland will hope to avoid Russia from ‘Pot 2’. Ranked 34th in the world, the Russians recently secured a play-off place for the World Cup by finishing behind Croatia in their qualification group. Ireland have never beaten Russia in a competitive game.

Albania, meanwhile, would represent the most difficult opponents for Ireland from ‘Pot 4. Ranked 66th in the world, Albania finished third in their qualification group for the 2022 World Cup, behind England and Poland, and ahead of Hungary.

They won six games in their group, and were just two points behind Poland, narrowing missing out on a playoff place.

Uefa Nations League: Best draw for Ireland.

Based on current world rankings and recent form, here is the best Uefa Nations League group Ireland could be drawn in:

Iceland
Finland
Ireland
Armenia

Iceland experienced a golden period at international level between 2014 and 2018. They reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and knocked out England en route.

Iceland followed that success by qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, becoming the smallest population to ever reach the tournament. In the same year, they were ranked 18th in the world.

However, they have since plummeted down the rankings and are currently ranked 62nd. Iceland finished fifth in their qualification group for the World Cup – behind Germany, North Macedonia, Romania and Armenia.

They have only won two of their last 10 competitive matches – both against Liechtenstein.

Finland, ranked 58th in the world, were in Ireland’s Nations League group in the last campaign and recorded two wins over Kenny’s side. They also narrowly missed out on a World Cup playoff place, finishing third behind Ukraine and France.

But they would arguably represent a better draw for Ireland than Norway, who have Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard. Haaland is one of the most feared strikers in world football and Odegaard is a regular for Arsenal. Both are currently performing at a level above every Irish player.

In international football, two standout players and a solid squad can be enough to achieve success. Norway have also only lost two of their last 10 competitive games and finished third in qualifying for the World Cup, behind Turkey and the Netherlands.

Scotland are the other team in ‘Pot 2.’ Steve Clarke’s side are ranked 38th in the world and their squad is roughly at the same level as Ireland. In the Premier League this season, 15 Scottish players have made appearances, compared to 11 for Ireland.

Kenny’s team wouldn’t have much to fear, but the Scots would probably be favourites. They qualified for Euro 2020 and secured a playoff place for the 2022 World Cup. Scotland also have players who would arguably make Ireland’s strongest XI – such as Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson.

Armenia are the last team in the group and the lowest-ranked side from ‘Pot 4’ (92th).