How Ireland can qualify for Euro 2028 – Explained as if you were in the pub

No doubt pubs will still get their late licenses and the atmosphere will be electric leaving us wondering when our next chance will be to participate in a major tournament.

Euro 2028 might just be that opportunity for the generation of Irish fans who have only seen their beloved nation on the big stage during Euro 2016, or the supporters who have far-gone memories of Jackie's army and soap dramas in Saipan.

How Ireland can qualify for Euro 2028 - pub explanation

UEFA announced in 2023 that we would be "co-hosting" the tournament alongside England, Scotland and Wales. They also pretty much announced we need to boost our FIFA rankings by 30 odd places to qualify automatically - how unlikely.

So what do we need? Well in an ideal world we would just batter our way through the group we get and qualify automatically.

Now for the realistic scenario. We need at least two of England, Scotland and Wales to reach the tournament through qualifying.

We all know England will qualify outright - meaning we need either Scotland or Wales to follow suit.

This way Ireland will be guaranteed a spot as one of the two best-ranked "host" nations who don't qualify automatically.

Honestly, not a bad scenario for us to make our first appearance at a major tournament since Euro 2016.

Even Richard Dunne said it would be an absolute disaster if we don't qualify either automatically or as one of the best losers.

Dunne told Dublin Live: "We have to get there. To not be involved would be a crime. It would be an amazing occasion, something really special not just for the team itself but for the whole country, so it's important that we're part of that.

"And it's important that we put on a good showing and we present ourselves well and I think for long periods over the last decade or so, we've not looked like getting any closer.

"That last campaign has given us real hope and real belief that we can become a team that can be difficult to play against.

"the work ethic, the effort, everything that they're putting into each match is something that is representative of the teams of yesteryear when the teams were doing really well."

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