Gordon Manning has done a handy team-by-team guide to the teams Ireland could play, who haven’t been without their difficulties. Particularly some very interesting insight into the conflicts going on with Czechs, who don’t seem a happy camp.
[ Team-by-team guide to Ireland’s potential World Cup playoff opponentsOpens in new window ]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2026 World Cup playoff draw, which involves the Republic of Ireland. It takes place at 12pm in Zurich. Ireland are in pot 3 for the draw, so their potential opponents are Poland, Wales, Czech Republic and Slovakia in pot 2.
Pot 1
Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine
Pot 2
Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia
Pot 3
Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo
Pot 4
Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland
Pot 2 plays pot 3 in the draw, with Pot 1 playing Pot 4 in the playoff semi-finals. The higher ranked pot is home for the first game, so Ireland will be away to one of the four teams.
The winner of the games go into the playoff final for the four spots. In Ireland’s case, they will play the winner of the match between Pot 1 and 4. A draw will also be conducted to determine which semi-final winner is to have home advantage for the final. All games – semi-finals and finals – will be single-leg knockout matches.
