Ireland beat Iceland 19-11 in round 30 of the open event at the European bridge championships in Malmö yesterday but lost heavily to England, 3-25, in round 31.
The result placed the English in a good position to qualify for the world championships in Estoril next year. The top five teams will go forward.
With two rounds to go, England, now tied for fifth place with the Netherlands, seem to have the easier finish as they will meet last-placed San Marino in the final round.
Italy, meanwhile, is assured of the gold medal for a record sixth successive time.
Sweden is safe in second place, but the battle for the bronze is between Russia and Poland.
Russia faces the more formidable task, taking on the all-conquering Italians in the next round before having a bye in the last.
In the women's championship, Ireland lost 10-20 to Spain and 13-17 to Croatia. Going into the last round, the Netherlands leads Sweden by four points, with France safe in third position. England and Germany meet in the last round, each requiring a big score to overtake Israel and clinch the vital fifth world qualifying spot.
Ireland's seniors, the only all-women's team in the competition, won their first match of the tournament, beating Finland 17-13. Denmark drew with France and beat England 25-1 to jump to the top of the leaderboard. Long-time leaders Germany slipped to fourth.
Open championship after 31 rounds: 1 Italy 639, 2 Sweden 578, 3 Russia 553, 4 Poland 547, 5 England, 6 Netherlands 541, 7 Turkey 530, 8 France 515, 9 Germany 512, 10 Denmark 496, 26th Ireland 409.
Women after 20 rounds: 1 Netherlands 381, 2 Sweden 377, 3 France 368, 4 Austria 354, 5 Israel 347, 6 Germany 340, 7 England 335, 8 Poland 329, 9 Finland 323, 10 Italy 314, 15th Ireland 274 (seniors).