180 minutes between Ireland and Russia.
With the World Cup playoffs draw taking place on Tuesday, international fever has returned to the air for the first real time since June 2016.
One opponent stands between the Republic and a first World Cup since 2002 and just two more games will be played to seal or destroy the Irish ticket.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of the World Cup playoffs draw.
When is it?
The draw will take place on Tuesday 17 October in Zurich.
It commences at 1pm Irish time.
Where can I watch it?
It will be broadcast live from FIFA headquarters on FIFA.com and on FIFA’s YouTube and Facebook hubs but it was also be available to watch in real time on SportsJOE’s Facebook page with a special SportsJOE Live episode kicking off at 1pm to dissect Ireland’s hopes, the opposition, and bring you the draw as it happens.
Who can Ireland get?
Martin O’Neill and his men have once again fallen victims to the seeding system in these draws and will be put in the unseeded pot alongside Northern Ireland, Sweden and Greece. They can therefore face one of the following four seeded sides:
- Switzerland
- Croatia
- Italy
- Denmark
Ireland are currently ranked 26th in the world, behind Sweden (25th) and Northern Ireland (23rd).
Switzerland (11th), Italy (15th), Croatia (18th), and Denmark (19th) are the four highest-ranked of the eight playoffs teams and therefore will each be paired with one of the unseeded countries.
When will the playoffs be played?
The first leg will take place between November 9 and November 11.
The second leg will take place between November 12 and November 14.
There will be an open draw to determine who plays at home first and away first.
Away goals, penalties etc.
If you win over the two legs on aggregate, you’re laughing. You’re going to Russia.
If the scores are tied over the two legs, away goals come into effect.
If the away goals scored are identical, extra time will be played. After that, penalties.
