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16th November 2025
05:09pm GMT
Attention will soon turn to March, when Ireland will take part in the World Cup play-offs.
The format is different from the old two-legged ties. This time, Ireland must win a single-leg semi-final and then a single-leg final to reach the 2026 World Cup.
In total, 16 teams will enter the play-offs. They include the 12 runners-up from the qualifying groups, along with four teams from the Nations League. At the moment, only Italy, Ukraine, Albania and the Czech Republic are confirmed runners-up. The remaining places will be decided in the coming days as the final group games are played.
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The first play-off match will take place on 26 March, with the play-off final scheduled for 31 March. Ireland will find out whether they play at home or away based on their position in the seeding pots. Teams in Pot 1 and Pot 2 will play their semi-final at home, which could be a crucial advantage.
In the semi-finals, Pot 1 teams will play Pot 4 teams at home, and Pot 2 teams will play Pot 3 teams at home. The final home teams will be decided by a draw.
Ireland are currently ranked 62nd in the world, but this ranking is expected to improve when FIFA updates its list next week. The victories over Portugal and Hungary should give Ireland a welcome boost and may be enough to lift them into a higher seeding position, depending on results elsewhere this week.
The draw for the play-offs will take place on Thursday, 20 November at midday. Once the draw is made, Ireland will finally know their route and what stands between them and a first World Cup appearance since 2002.
Ireland currently sit in Pot 3, and to move up to Pot 2 they need results elsewhere to go their way.
On Tuesday, November 18, Wales take on North Macedonia and Bosnia face Austria. Both Wales and Bosnia must not win for Ireland to move up to Pot 2.
In place of Wales, Ukraine could have done Ireland a favour by not beating Iceland, but they were 2-0 victors on Sunday.
If both Ireland and Northern Ireland - who will be in Pot 4 - can get through their play-off semi-finals, there is a chance that the pair will meet in the final, in what would be one of the most anticipated games ever played on the island.
The following are the only teams who have confirmed their Pot ahead of tonight's last round of games:
Pot 1: Italy
Pot 2: Slovakia
Pot 3: Albania, plus Kosovo unless they beat Switzerland by six goals.
Pot 4: Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland
