Republic of Ireland’s Play-Off Opposition Announced
After qualifying in dramatic fashion, qualifying for the World Cup couldn’t be much harder for the Republic of Ireland after their qualifying draw. After Northern Ireland drew Italy, the highest-ranked nation in the play-offs, R.O.I drew the Czech Republic, a nation who appeared out-of-sorts after narrowly qualifying ahead of the Faroe Islands.
‘Czechia’ haven’t been easy on the eye but they have made a habit of getting the job done and qualified for the play-off after a 6-0 thrashing of Gibraltar. While Ireland will look at this game as a winnable fixture, their opposition are unbeaten on home turf since 2022 and have lost just once since September 2020, getting results against Belgium, Switzerland and Spain in that timeframe.
Should Ireland come out victorious, they will then have to face one of North Macedonia or Denmark. While the Danes are the likely opposition, the inconsistent North Macedonia can’t be overlooked, while they lost 7-1 to Wales last time out, they beat Italy in similar conditions in 2022 before losing their play-off final to Portugal.
Home nations getting the better of both opposition in November will be a motivational factor for Helmir Hallgrimsson who has brought good times back to Irish International football with their recent results and will firmly believe he can lead his Irish side to the World Cup.
Ireland will face the Czech Republic on March 26th 2026 at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. If they are victorious, either Denmark or North Macedonia will travel to Dublin for the final.
Can Ireland pull off an unlikely upset? The impossible was made possible for them to just make the play-offs, while the odds are against them, we certainly wouldn’t bet against them in March.