Reports fluctuated earlier surrounding Qatar’s potential inclusion in European World Cup qualifying as preparation for the finals. Those reports were then confirmed by the FAI by way of a tweet announcing Ireland’s fixtures.

CONFIRMED | Ireland’s fixtures for 2021

March 24 | v
March 27 | v
March 30 | v
September 1 | v
September 4 | v
September 7 | v
October 9 | v
October 12 | v
November 11 | v
November 14 | v #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/rm5wNCYGrv

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) DECEMBER 8, 2020

They have already qualified for the finals due to their position of host, however this will give the nation a chance to see where they’re at in terms of competitiveness. They won’t be competing for points, meaning their games will be played as friendlies.

Ireland will play Qatar twice in qualifying, both home and away. The venue of these fixtures has not yet been decided. Given the distance between the two nations, it could very well be played in a neutral ground.

Qatar are ranked at 59 in the FIfa World Rankings, not many places below Ireland who are currently ranked 42. Despite not being a traditional football powerhouse, Qatar should provide stern competition for Ireland given their growth over the past few years.

Ireland are first set to play Qatar on March 30th. The final match between the two countries will take place on October 12th.

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Ireland’s World Cup qualification opponents were revealed earlier today. Their opponents for the upcoming campaign will be; Portugal, Serbia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.

Qualification for the World Cup finals is only reserved for 1^st and 2^nd placed teams within each group. Teams who place top of their respective groups will automatically qualify. On the other hand, runners-up will enter a play-off to determine which team goes through.

It will be a tough ask for Ireland to qualify, particularly given their poor recent form and the quality of opposition. Nevertheless, Ireland have overcome odds before and will be hoping to do so once again during this qualification campaign.

The campaign is set to kick off in March 2021, running until November of the same year. Here’s an overview of what Ireland are up against:

PORTUGAL

Portugal, being seeded in Pot 1 and having an exciting mix of youth and experience, are obvious favourites to win the group.

They’ve qualified for the last 5 World Cups, having last failed for the 1998 World Cup. In contrast, Ireland have not qualified for a World Cup since 2002.

Ireland have faced Portugal a total of 13 times, losing 7 and winning 4 times. Their most recent fixture was an international friendly, a game which ended up in a 5-1 Portuguese victory.

Unlike Ireland, Portugal have major international honours to their name. Perhaps most famously, they won the 2016 European Championships after defeating France in extra time. They also won the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping to become international football’s highest ever goalscorer by the end of the campaign. He currently sits on 102 goals, just 7 goals behind current top goalscorer, Ali Daei.

Portugal have quality all over the pitch, meaning Ireland will have to be at their very best to claim any kind of result.

Key players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix.

Form: WLWWD

SERBIA

Despite losing to Scotland in their European Championship play-off game, Serbia are a quality side. They possess players of particular high quality in the midfield and forward areas.

They’ve been involved in 3 World Cup qualifying campaigns as Serbia – having previously competed under Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro – and have qualified from 2 of those. They have, however, not made it past the group stage as of yet.

Ireland have faced Serbia 5 times, not winning a single match. Their most recent meeting came in the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, where both teams were drawn in the same group. One fixture finished in a Serbia win while the other finished as a 2-2 draw. Serbia topped the group while Ireland qualified for the play-offs, but failed to qualify for the tournament.

Although not as fearsome as Portugal, Serbia should provide a stern test for Ireland. The fixtures against Serbia are crucial for Ireland. Whoever comes out on top will have a very good chance of making the play-offs – assuming Portugal tops the group.

Key players: Sergej Milinković-Savić, Aleksandar Mitrović, Dušan Tadić

Form: WDDDL

LUXEMBOURG

Although not traditionally a country known for it’s football, Luxembourg have put together a decent team in recent years. They *might not* qualify for major tournaments any time soon, but they are definitely building towards something promising.

Ireland have faced Luxembourg 5 times, winning all of those fixtures. However, the last match between the two sides came in 1987 and Luxembourg are an improved, more professional side since then.

Luxembourg have competed in every World Cup qualifying campaign since 1934, but have failed to qualify from the group stages as yet.

They were promoted from Nations League group D in 2019 and very nearly achieved the same feat this year as they finished finished 2^nd in their League C group – which also included Azerbaijan.

Luxembourg could very well be the dark horse in this group, Ireland will have to do a professional job on the underdogs. Complacency could prove an issue going into this fixture.

Key players: Gerson Rodrigues, Vincent Thill, Laurent Jans.

Form: DLLWW

AZERBAIJAN

Like Luxembourg, Azerbaijan’s national team has been steadily improving for years. Much of the progression is due to the growth of their domestic league. Qarabağ, in particular, have vastly increased their reputation in recent years due to their involvement in the UEFA Europa League. In fact, they’ve qualified for the group stages every year since 2014.

Unlike the other teams in the group, Ireland have never faced Azerbaijan before. They have, however, faced the USSR – which they were part of – on 8 occasions. Ireland won 3 of those matches, while the USSR won 4.

Azerbaijan have never qualified for the World Cup as an independent country, having entered every campaign since 1998.

As mentioned before, they were in the same Nations League group as fellow group members, Luxembourg, this year. Luxembourg were victorious on one occasion while the other match between the two finished as a stalemate.

Realistically, Azerbaijan should finish bottom of the group. That is not, however, guaranteed. Ireland will have to be at their best to ensure a victory.

Key players: Ali Ghorbani, Maksim Medvedev, Gara Garayev.

Form: DDDDL

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Stephen Kenny’s Ireland team will face Portugal and Serbia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The Boys in Green suffered a heavy defeat last time they played Portugal, losing 5-1 back in 2014. Whilst their last competitive fixtures both ended all square in the lead up to the 2002 World Cup.

As a consequence of Ireland’s poor recent form, they found themselves in pot three for the draw meaning they will also face Serbia. Since 2008, Ireland and Serbia have gone head to head five times, resulting in three draws and two wins for the Serbians. Similar to Ireland, Serbia suffered their own EURO 2020 qualifying heartache after losing to Scotland on penalties in the play-off final.

Luxembourg and Azerbaijan make up the remainder of Group A. It will be the first time Ireland have ever played Azerbaijan, and it will have been over 30 years since they have faced Luxembourg.

Group A is now complete

1⃣ Portugal
2⃣ Serbia
3⃣ Ireland
4⃣ Luxembourg
5⃣ Azerbaijan

What are your thoughts on that draw? #COYBIG | #WCQ | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wLpzS50IfW

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) December 7, 2020

Qualifying Format

The ten group winners will automatically qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. An additional three spots are up for grabs, with each runner-up along with the two highest-ranked teams from the UEFA Nations League set to contest in a play-off format for the last available places.

The qualifiers commence at the end of March 2021 with three opening fixtures scheduled. You can find the full World Cup 2022 qualifying draw below.

Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan.

Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo.

Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania.

Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kazakhstan.

Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia.

Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova.

Group G: Holland, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar.

Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta.

Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino.

Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein.

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Firstly to Anfield where John Egan and co failed, despite their best efforts, to hang onto the draw as Sheffield United narrowly lost to champions Liverpool. Egan and fellow international Enda Stevens had a front four of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah to contest with. After taking an early lead, the Blades went home with nothing to show for in spite of Egan’s best efforts.

A captain's performance.

Some vital interceptions from John Egan last night pic.twitter.com/UaG50PfOOl

— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) October 25, 2020

At the Amex Stadium on Monday night, West Bromwich Albion grabbed a late equaliser against Brighton Hove Albion. Callum Robinson came off the bench to set up Karlan Grant for his first goal for the Baggies. Dara O’Shea missed the game with a suspected ankle injury.

Championship

Here's your #SkyBetChampionship Team of the Week, powered by @WhoScored ratings!#EFL pic.twitter.com/RqZQyPS9xl

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) October 26, 2020

Both James McClean and Alan Browne made the Whoscored.com ‘Team of the Week’. Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City team gained all three points after an impressive performance against Brentford. James McClean put in a man of the match display with a goal and assist as his team won 3-2. At the back, Nathan Collins continued his run in the team. He will have one eye on the Irish senior squad as we head towards the World Cup qualifiers next year.

Preston North End also enjoyed a successful Saturday afternoon thanks to an Alan Browne brace. Browne’s performance against Slovakia in Ireland’s play-off game drew some criticism after he missed a couple of crucial chances. Two goals for the Irishman was the perfect way to respond to the critics. His first goal was a well-placed finish into the corner of the net, his second a cheeky dink over the keeper with his back to goal.

Every angle of the goal that sparked the comeback yesterday!

What a finish from @Alan__Browne!

Highlights will be available later today. https://t.co/TrIjTrEoIW#pnefc pic.twitter.com/0WdPte4DzB

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) October 25, 2020

Elsewhere in the Championship, Adam Idah saw red in Norwich City’s 2-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers. Blackburn Rovers thrashed Coventry City 4-0 as Irish pair Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams claimed a clean sheet. Williams in particular has impressed his manager Tony Mowbray so far this season.

Boss impressed with Williams' fine form#Rovers

— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) October 26, 2020

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It was a tough pill to swallow for Stephen Kenny and his Ireland team after losing out to Slovakia in a play-off semi-final shootout. No EURO 2020 for the Republic of Ireland. Another opportunity to play at a major tournament that has fallen through the cracks.

In Ireland’s defence, there has been a limited amount of time for Kenny to implement his playing style. This was his third game in charge and although the result was disappointing, there were several glimpses throughout the game of what this team is capable of. Take for instance Conor Hourihane’s chance which would’ve been the icing on the cake of a wonderfully worked move.

At the other end, Shane Duffy and John Egan commanded the game, keeping the Slovakian attack relatively quiet for the entire 120 minutes. On several occasions Kenny could be heard from the touchline, “keep the shape!” They didn’t let him down. What did let Ireland down was their missed chances. Hourihane’s the most obvious, while substitute Alan Browne also squandered two glorious opportunities. All in all, the Irish team rued these chances as the game ended in penalty shootout heartache.

Stephen Kenny says his team showed "great qualities as Irish men" and deserved to win but "just couldn't score that goal we needed". #RTEsoccer #SVKIRL #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/kVimzXU6iN

— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 8, 2020

So what is next for Kenny and this team?

The next tournament on the horizon is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, giving Ireland two years to prepare. But the transition will be brisk. After a flurry of Nations League fixtures this month and next, World Cup qualifying games are due to kick off in March of next year.

It is well known that Kenny is a fan of the youth, with a large pool of Irish youngsters now to choose from. Aaron Connolly, Adam Idah and Jayson Molumby have all featured under the new boss having impressed him at U-21 level. Players including Troy Parrott, Dara O’Shea, Josh Cullen and Jack Byrne will now be knocking on the door. Some difficult decisions lie ahead in this period of transition.

“They showed themselves to be a real team, there was a tremendous team ethic and everyone did as much as they could tonight.”

The players did Kenny proud last night with a valiant effort. He won’t want to turn his back on them. However, the average age of the starting eleven against Slovakia was just above 29 years old, with Callum Robinson the youngest at 25. In two years’ time, this average will have crept above 30.

Now, more than ever, is the time for Kenny to start blooding the youngsters. Time is of the essence. Despite an improved style of play, it is clear from the play-off game that Ireland are in need of a goal-scorer. David McGoldrick was outstanding on the night, dropping deep and dictating the play. But goals aren’t his game. Connolly, Idah, Parrott and Obafemi are all chomping at the bit to fill the void left by Robbie Keane four years ago.

Like previous managers Martin O’Neill and Mick McCarthy, there is a sense that Stephen Kenny will remain loyal to the current crop. On the other hand, he is also aware of the talent coming through the ranks from his successful period with the U-21 squad. Now it is time to find the right balance between experience and youth. EURO 2020 may not be happening for Ireland, but there is still plenty to be positive about under the new manager.

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