Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016 given big boost

First, the good news.

If the Republic of Ireland manage to leapfrog Scotland, and finish in third position in their qualifying group for Euro 2016, they'll be seeded in the play-offs. Uefa announced today that the draw for the two-legged play off round, featuring the sides who finish third in their respective groups, will be seeded, and Ireland will sneak into the top half of the draw. As things currently stand, there are four teams above Ireland, in Uefa's co-efficient ranking, sitting in third spot in their respective groups, meaning Ireland could face teams such as Albania, Israel, or Norway. Now for the bad news. This is how Group D currently stands: It's going to take a series of fortunate results for Ireland to finish ahead of Scotland and secure third spot in the group. We've looked at what needs to happen here. Should the group standings remains as they currently are, with Scotland earning the play-off spot, then Gordon Strachan's side won't face an easy passage to France next summer. The Scots will be in the lower half of the draw, and could face teams such as the Netherlands and Russia. H/T STV Sport.