Gleeson’s Ireland to discover fate for Euro qualifiers
IRELAND women’s head coach Eileen Gleeson will be at UEFA headquarters in Nyon today where her side will learn the identity of their three opponents for the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers.
Following last autumn’s successful Nation League campaign, Ireland are now in the top tier of European football and it means there is the prospect of drawing both world champions Spain and defending European champions England in the same group. A date with either of those teams will ensure a return to the Aviva Stadium, where over 35,000 supporters watched Ireland play Northern Ireland last September, but it also might mean a harsh lesson on the field.
As one of the nations promoted from League B, Ireland sit in Pot 4, alongside Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic, but the other three pots are dripping with quality.
Sweden, silver medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, are in Pot 3 along with Iceland, Belgium and Norway while England are in pot two along with Italy, Austria and Denmark. The top seeds are Spain, France, Germany and Italy.
The top two teams in each group will qualify automatically for Switzerland in 2025, while the third and fourth placed teams will enter into a play-off series, against teams from League C and B. There is also a knockon effect for the Nations League in 2025 and 2026, with the first three teams remaining in League A and the bottom team in each group relegated to League B.
Ireland have never qualified for the European Championships, although the fact that they are guaranteed a play-off place will increase their chances of making it to Switzerland. Following the draw, work will need to be done to arrange the six fixtures – to be played in April, the last week in May and first week in June and also in July. EURO 2025 QUALIFIERS: Pot 1: Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany. Pot 2: England, Austria, Denmark, Italy. Pot 3: Iceland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway. Pot 4: Ireland, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic. Dream draw: Germany, Austria, Iceland. Nightmare draw: Spain, England, Norway.