That’s the draw then. The big story is obviously Ireland facing England. Ireland played England last in November 2020 when they were beaten 3-0 under Stephen Kenny. Before that Ireland hadn’t actually lost to England since 1985 before Jack Charlton arrived. There was the famous victory in Euro 88 but they drew five straight times from 1990 to 2013.
Whoever the next Ireland manager is would happily take two draws this time against Gareth Southgate’s star-studded line-up. Finland and Greece won’t be easy either. The matches in the Nations League begin in September 2024.
League B Group 2
England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece
League C Group 3
Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus
Juan Mata to present the final league, League A, completing the Premier League footballer line-up.
League A
Group 1
Croatia
Portugal
Poland
Scotland
Group 2
Italy
Belgium
France
Israel
Group 3
Netherlands
Hungary
Germany
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group 4
Spain
Denmark
Switzerland
Serbia
Tasty group there in Group 2. Scotland with a tricky group too, would be happy to stay up from that I imagine.
Republic of Ireland is up next in League B. Next up to present is Aleksandar Kolarov, former Manchester City full-back. All former Premier League so far.
Group 1
Czechia
Ukraine
Albania
Georgia
Group 2
England
Finland
Republic of Ireland
Greece
Group 3
Austria
Norway
Slovenia
Kazakhstan
Group 4
Wales
Iceland
Montenegro
Turkey
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Ireland get England then! And Greece, Finland. What a draw that is. Tough one, but a lot of interest in it. Chance for revenge against Greece also after the Euros qualifiers.
Now Giorgos Karagounis, formerly of Fulham is up to present League C draw. Four different players for the four different leagues and an interview with them all. Uefa don’t like to do it quickly. Northern Ireland are in this league.
League C:
Group 1
Sweden
Azerbaijan
Slovakia
Estonia
Group 2
Romania
Kosovo
Cyprus
Winner of Lithuania/Gibraltar
Group 3
Luxembourg
Bulgaria
Northern Ireland
Belarus
Group 4
Armenia
Faroe Islands
North Macedonia
Latvia
Northern Ireland get Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus then. Not the easiest group in League C but none of the teams are world beaters.
The League D draw is first:
Group 1
Losers of Gibraltar/Lithuania
San Marino
Liechtenstein
Group 2
Moldova
Malta
Andorra
Michael Obafemi’s screamer against Scotland makes the compilation video building up the draw, lets hope for more of that next campaign. To draw the balls, former Latvia and Southampton striker Marians Pahars comes to the stage. Some nostalgia there.
Ireland won’t have a manager in time for the draw, the FAI had hoped to have the position filled by now. It is believed that Lee Carsley is still the preferred candidate, but negotiations have stalled over financial terms. A FAI delegation will represent Ireland at the draw. Paul Cooke and Jonathan Hill are in Paris, and voted earlier on Uefa amendments.
Here are all the pots for the draw:
League A pots
Pot 1 Spain, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands
Pot 2 Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary
Pot 3 Switzerland, Germany, Poland, France
Pot 4 Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Scotland
League B pots
Pot 1: Austria, Czechia, England, Wales
Pot 2: Finland, Ukraine, Iceland, Norway
Pot 3: Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, Montenegro
Pot 4: Georgia, Greece, Turkey, Kazakhstan.
League C pots
Pot 1 Romania, Sweden, Armenia, Luxembourg
Pot 2 Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands
Pot 3 North Macedonia, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Cyprus
Pot 4 Belarus, Lithuania/Gibraltar*, Estonia, Latvia
League D pots
Pot 1 Lithuania/Gibraltar*, Moldova
Pot 2 Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein
Nations League explained 2024/25: The Nations League, if you haven’t been paying much attention over the past few years, features all 54 Uefa member associations in four leagues, based on their previous results. Each team plays six matches in their group of four, one home and one away against the other three nations in the group. Promotion and relegation features and, as Ireland have found out regarding Euro 2024, poor performance is costly. Results impact on seeding for qualifiers and playoffs for international tournaments.
Previously only the top team in the group got promoted and the bottom team got relegated. Now there are promotion/relegation playoffs for second- and third-place teams in League B. Should Ireland finish second in their group, they will play third place in one of League A’s groups for a chance of promotion. Should Ireland finish third in their group, they will play a second place in Group C to avoid relegation. These matches will be two-legged and be played from March 20th to 25th, 2025.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Uefa Nations League draw taking place in Paris at 5pm Irish time. It is live on Uefa’s official website, YouTube channel and app. Ireland are in League B, the second of four divisions. Each group will feature a side drawn from each pot. Ireland are in pot number three.
Pot 1: Austria, Czechia, England, Wales
Pot 2: Finland, Ukraine, Iceland, Norway
Pot 3: Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, Montenegro
Pot 4: Georgia, Greece, Turkey, Kazakhstan.
Ireland cannot be drawn in a group with England/Wales and Kazakhstan due to travelling distance. Otherwise there are no restrictions, and of course one name stands out above all – England. That would be a good moneymaker for the FAI, but also a very tough draw – Bellingham, Kane, Foden et al coming to the Aviva.
The games will take place between September and November 2024. With Ireland failing to qualify for the Euros, they will be the most meaningful matches they play this calendar year.
Matchday 1: September 5th to 7th, 2024
Matchday 2: September 8th to 10th, 2024
Matchday 3: October 10th to 12th, 2024
Matchday 4: October 13th to 15th, 2024
Matchday 5: November 14th to 16th, 2024
Matchday 6: November 17th to 19th, 2024
