Should the Republic of Ireland qualify for the World Cup next summer, fans at home will have to get up extra early, or stay awake all night, to see their teams in action in two of the three Group A games.
The fixture dates and times have been revealed by Fifa which would see Ireland’s first game against South Korea in Guadalajara played at 9pm local time on Thursday, June 12th, which is 3am in Irish time on Friday, June 13th.
Ireland would get a week break before the more sociable time of 5pm Irish time, midday local, for the game against South Africa in Atlanta on Thursday, June 18th.
The final game of the group would be played against the hosts Mexico in Mexico City on Thursday, June 24th, at 8pm local time, which is 2am Irish time on Friday, June 25th.
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Ireland’s place in the tournament is dependent on playoffs in March 2026, where they would have to beat the Czech Republic and the winners of Denmark and North Macedonia to qualify for the tournament in North America.
Group A fixtures:
June 11/12th: South Korea v Uefa Path D (including Ireland), Guadalajara, 9pm local time (3am Irish time)
June 18th: Uefa Path D (including Ireland) v South Africa, Atlanta, 12pm local time (5pm Irish time)
June 24/25th: Uefa Path D (including Ireland) v Mexico, Mexico City, 8pm local time (2am Irish time)
