Heimir Hallgrímsson believes the Republic of Ireland would fancy their chances of qualifying from their group in the World Cup, should they progress past the playoffs.
The Boys in Green were drawn in Group A alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and Korea Republic with the fixtures against the Mexicans and Koreans likely to be played in Mexico, with confirmation set to come on Saturday.
But first Ireland must navigate the playoffs in March where they must beat Czechia in Prague before then defeating the winners of the other semi-final between North Macedonia and Denmark in Dublin if they are to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2002.
““It’s exciting. We are not there yet, but it’s exciting to be a part of it,” began Hallgrímsson shortly after the draw concluded on Friday.
“We were hoping to be in the US. The Irish diaspora is in the US. I played on a couple of occasions in Mexico, in big stadiums, so hopefully we will, if we get there, have a lot of Irish fans coming.
“I think it’s a quite equal group in a way. It’s not like a Brazil or an Argentina that normally are favourites in the group.
“It was good to be in a host nation group, whether it was Canada, US or Mexico.
“I know Mexico playing in Mexico will always be a challenging match. But then again, very demanding fans in Mexico. Sometimes they turn on their team if it’s not going well.
“But anyway, it’s a beatable group if we think [of] ourselves in it. It’s a group we would fancy qualifying from.
“But we know we need to focus on what’s ahead and keep our eye and focus on the next opponent, which is Czech Republic.
“We’re not celebrating being here, but at least we’ve met some of the nations like Jamaica, who are kind of disappointed to be in the playoffs, but we are happy to be in the playoffs. So, it’s a positive moment.
“Normally, I am confident. I’m a positive realist, if I would say. I’ve said from the beginning that we are going to qualify.
I’m not going to change that, but obviously it’s a little disrespectful to all the other opponents we play against until then to say when.
“But that’s how we have worked from day one and that’s how we will keep on working. We are not going to change that.
“We are going to prepare to be here the best way we can. We are investing in that. That’s why we are here. That’s why we are taking all the workshops and all the tickets and logistics around the World Cup.
“It’s going to be a big one. So, we better be ready.”
