There was the usual mix of pomposity, theatricality and drama in the draw for the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The legends they had to do the draw alongside the familiar figure from these events of Gabriele Marchetti did present a little bit of a difference with both the Italian stars, Zambrotta and Albertini only speaking in Italian, requiring a little shuffling of roles among the presenters.
Their colleagues Jurgen Klinsmann and Karl Heinz Riedle spoke in perfect English, the language of choice for these international draws, and it was Klinsmann who pulled out the republic of Ireland in one of the two spots that Jonathan Hill and Stephen Kenny might have been hoping to avoid.
Pool B had already been populated with The Netherlands and France, and Pool C with Italy and England. The Irish ball came out in Group B and while optimists will look forward to exciting nights at the Aviva Stadium, it could have been kinder.
Northern Ireland will have been happier with Denmark and Finland as the top two seeds in their Group H, as well as Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino.
For the Republic, though it will mean bumping one of the perennial qualifiers and tournament favourites in order to secure a place in Germany two years from the summer past.
It is not impossible and the youth and flashes of real quality we have seen over the past year will give hope but again, it could have been easier.
The schedule of matches has been arranged already and we know that the games will all be played between next March and November 2023.
27th March – Republic of Ireland v France
16th June – Greece v Republic of Ireland
19th June – Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar
7th September – France v Republic of Ireland
10th September – Republic of Ireland v Netherlands
13th October – Republic of Ireland v Greece
16th October – Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland
18th November – Netherlands v Republic of Ireland
“It’s a tough group but they’re very exciting games and a challenge we’ll look forward to,” said Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after the draw.
“We’re looking forward to playing France and the Netherlands home and away, these will be great occasions and Greece and Gibraltar will also present us with a real challenge as well. It’s a group where teams can take points off each other so we can take confidence from that.”
“To finish in the top two, we’ll have to achieve something extraordinary but that has to be our ambition to do that. We’ve shown a capacity to get results against tough opposition with the likes of Portugal, Serbia and Belgium. We can take real encouragement from that.”
Northern Ireland have two additional fixtures having been drawn in a group of seven teams.
Their lineup of games looks like this:
23rd March – San Marino Vs Northern Ireland
26th March – Northern Ireland Vs Finland
16th June – Denmark Vs Northern Ireland
19th June – Northern Ireland Vs Kazakhstan
7th September – Slovenia Vs Northern Ireland
10th September – Kazakhstan Vs Northern Ireland
14th October – Northern Ireland Vs San Marino
17th October Northern Ireland Vs Slovenia
17th November – Finland Vs Northern Ireland
20th November Northern Ireland Vs Denmark
“I think all the teams in the group will be thinking they can beat each other,” said Northern Ireland manager Ian Barraclough.
“Top seeds Denmark are a strong team and will be difficult opponents, however the qualifiers against Finland and Slovenia are winnable games.”
The 10 group winners and the 10 group runners-up in the qualifiers will qualify directly for the final tournament in Germany in the summer of 2024. The three remaining spots will be completed with teams that qualify through play-offs in March 2024.
