Adam Schmitz reflects on today’s play-off draw which shows us Ireland’s path to next summer’s World Cup.
The Republic of Ireland will face Kazakhstan in the playoff semi-finals on the road to secure a place in next summer’s World Cup in Brazil. The two legged semi-final will take place between October 7th and 13th, with the winning team going on to face a tough tie against Belgium or Poland in the two-legged final in late November.
Kazakhstan is as good a draw as Ireland could have hoped for in the semi-finals. They currently sit 100th in the FIFA world rankings, 15 places below Kosovo, the next lowest team that Ireland could have drawn. The side earned their place in the playoffs with a second place finish in Group C6, finishing two points behind Belarus, who will face the Italians in the semi finals.
As for the potential final, there’s not quite as much luck for the Girls in Green. Poland and Belgium sit 18th and 29th respectively in the world rankings and would both prove a tough opponent. Poland would likely be the team that Carla Ward would rather face given Ireland beat them twice in group qualification over the last year. The side finished bottom of Ireland’s group having secured just one point, which came against the Dutch.
Belgium on the other hand narrowly missed out on topping their group. They finished second in group B4, with 14 points and a goal difference of +21, helped massively with 6 and 7 goal victories over Luxembourg. Scotland managed to top them by just one goal though, meaning they came out on top. Ireland last faced Belgium of course in October’s nations league playoff, where Ireland secured the top division spot with a 5-4 win on aggregate.
Carla Ward’s Reaction
Speaking from Nyon, Switzerland shortly after the draw today about the draw against Poland/Belgium, Irish manager Carla Ward said “I think everyone in the room would say that that was the one we probably wanted to avoid. Belgium and Poland are top sides”. Ward also admitted that Ireland will be far from underdogs heading into the semi-finals, and described the first leg away to Kazakhstan as a “logistical nightmare”.
Ward reflected on the Girls in Green group stage performance saying “Form will probably go out the window” and that the play-offs will be big game clashes. The Irish team fell just short of automatic qualification to the 2027 World Cup after a final game defeat to France in Grenoble, just days after a triumphant 3-2 victory over the Netherlands courtesy of late Amber Barrett winner in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Speaking on where these games could potentially be played, the manager said, “It’s not been confirmed where we’ll play, of course we would love to have one in Dublin and one in Cork”. Ireland has previously beaten both Poland and Belgium in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, but with a large crowd expected for a potential playoff final, the Aviva Stadium may well be on the agenda.
How the play-offs work
A whopping thirty two teams will compete in the play-offs in October, with just seven guaranteed places available for Brazil. Ireland have four games in their way before fans can start booking flights, with October’s two-legged semi leading into a potential two-legged final in late November/early December.
Crucially, for finishing third place in their League A group, Ireland will be seeded for both the semis and the final, should they be successful in reaching it. This will give Carla Ward’s side home advantage in the second leg of both ties. The potential final will see Ireland face a side which finished either bottom of a League A group or as runner-up or third in a League B group.
Interestingly, of the eight play-off finals, only seven winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup. The lowest ranked team, according to the league system, will enter an inter-continental tournament to earn their place. Thankfully, Ireland’s League A campaign will mean that’s not something the Irish will have to worry about.
The path isn’t easy for Ireland, but as Carla Ward said this afternoon, “If you want to get to a World Cup, you’ve got to be the best”.
