The Republic of Ireland will be away to one of Poland, Wales, the Czech Republic or Slovakia in a World Cup playoff semi-final next March.
A 7-1 victory for Wales over North Macedonia in Cardiff confirmed Ireland will be in Pot 3 for Thursday’s playoff draw in Zurich.
By missing out on a place in Pot 2, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side will not have the benefit of a home semi-final in Dublin and must instead win on the road to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
They will be joined in Pot 3 by Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo.
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Pot 1 will be comprised of Italy, Denmark, Turkey and Ukraine, while Pot 2 is made up of Ireland’s potential opponents, Poland, Wales, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The four teams in Pot 4 – Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland – qualified for the playoffs via the Nations League.
Two injury-time goals in Hampden Park on Tuesday night earned Scotland a sensational 4-2 victory over Denmark to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
Kieran Tierney’s magnificent 93rd-minute curler from outside the box edged Scotland ahead before Kenny McLean’s jaw-dropping strike from the halfway line guaranteed the home side would leapfrog the Danes to top of Group C.
But Ireland’s main focus was on events in Cardiff, where a hat-trick from captain Harry Wilson helped Wales hammer North Macedonia 7-1 to secure second place in Group J. Wales (34th in the Fifa world rankings) are well ahead of Ireland (62nd) in the rankings, claiming a spot in Pot 2 for Craig Bellamy’s team.
North Macedonia entered Tuesday’s fixture ahead of Wales on scoring difference, so a draw would have been enough for Blagoja Milevski’s outfit to edge out the Welsh for second place.
That would have been the desired outcome from an Irish perspective too, as North Macedonia’s ranking of 65th meant they would have been placed behind Ireland in the pot seedings.
However, by half-time in Cardiff the outcome was all but confirmed as Wales led 3-1 after a dominant opening 45 minutes.
Wilson opened the home side’s account with a nicely placed 18th-minute penalty. Just three minutes later David Brooks, who had been fouled for the spot kick, doubled their lead.
North Macedonia responded immediately with Bojan Miovski capitalising on some slack defending to slide the ball home inside the near post, 2-1.
But Brennan Johnson killed off any thoughts of a comeback with a stunning right-footed strike to the top corner in the 37th minute.
Daniel James made it 4-1 just before the hour mark, getting on the end of a neat back-heel before slipping the ball low to the far corner. Wilson curled home a sweet free from outside the box in the 75th minute to add a flourish to a brilliant night for Bellamy’s men and he completed his hat-trick with another penalty in the 81st minute. Nathan Broadhead made it seven in the closing stages.
Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina played out a 1-1 draw in Vienna, meaning the home side finished top of the Group H table with the visitors finishing second.
The four teams from Pot 1 on Thursday morning will be drawn against the four teams from Pot 4. The four teams from Pot 2 will be drawn against the four teams from Pot 3. The teams in Pot 1 and Pot 2, because of their better seeding, will have a home semi-final.
Four paths to playoff finals will also be confirmed at Thursday’s draw – Paths A, B, C, D. Each path will include two semi-final pairings – where the winners of a Pot 1 v Pot 4 fixture will play the winners of a Pot 2 v Pot 3 fixture.
The playoff semi-finals are provisionally scheduled for Thursday, March 26th and the finals for Tuesday, March 31st.
