Background to today’s draw
There was a chance the Boys in Green could have been in pot two, which would have seen them play a lower ranked side and have home advantage for the semi-final, but they needed Wales to drop points at home to North Macedonia and Austria not to top their group on Tuesday.
But it wasn’t to be for Hallgrimsson’s charges as Wales hammered their visitors 7-1 to secure second place and a spot in pot two, while Austria also got their job done to book their ticket.
Ireland are in pot three alongside Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, where they will be paired against a side from pot two. Northern Ireland will be in pot four and face a clash with a pot one team, which will be Italy, Denmark, Turkey or Ukraine.
Facing their first World Cup play-off since the heavy defeat to Denmark in November 2017, Ireland are targeting a first World Cup since 2002, with next summer’s final hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The group stage draw takes place in Washington on December 5, ahead of the tournament kicking off on June 11.
