All eyes are on Switzerland this evening as Stephen Kenny’s Eurovision takes sharper focus with the Nations League draw.
Contract talks between Kenny and the FAI – to take in the Euro 2024 assault – are well underway as expected, but that qualifying campaign does not begin until March 2023.
Kenny’s priority next year will instead be the Nations League with four games in a tight 12-day window in early June and two more in late September.
There are also two friendlies – expected to be at home – in March but the identity of the opposition has yet to be revealed.
At today’s draw in Nyon (5.00pm), Ireland will be in League B, Pot 3 and will therefore avoid the heavyweights of European football.
The top-ranked Pot 1 sides they can face are Ukraine, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland who were all relegated from League A last year.
Finland, Norway, Scotland and Russia are the Pot 2 opponents lying in wait while Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania and Armenia fill Pot 4.
Israel, Romania and recent World Cup foes Serbia are the three fellow Pot 3 teams that Ireland cannot play.
UEFA won’t publish the fixtures until tomorrow morning, but Ireland will play a double-header between June 2-8 and another two games from June 8-14.
And because of the winter World Cup in Qatar, the usual early September window has been pushed back to September 22-27 for the final two games.
The group winner will be promoted into League A for the 2024/25 Nations League while the bottom side will be relegated to League C.
Euro 2024 playoff spots will be up for grabs through this Nations League, but for now the how and why of it all is vague.
UEFA will wait until June before confirming the mechanics of the Euro 2024 competition and how the Nations League fits into it, but that hasn’t stopped Kenny from signalling his Nations League intent.
The night he secured his first home win as Ireland boss in October’s rout of Qatar, he stated – unprompted – that he wants to win the group.
At the time, he still had work to do to land a new contract beyond next summer’s expiry date, with key qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg to come.
But Kenny’s words were calculated and he knew what he was doing by putting the ball in the FAI’s court.
Not only did he declare the Nations League a priority, he laid down a marker for the assault by insisting Ireland are targeting group success.
And that was a full two months before this draw was made.
At Aviva Stadium that night, Kenny said: “We’re evolving as a team and we still have a lot of improving to do.
“But in all seriousness, one of the things we’ve looked at is the Nations League.
“Our ambition is to win the group as that will give you a European Championship playoff regardless of how you do in qualifying.
“We’re prioritising it and we’re determined to win. Myself and Keith Andrews have sat down and discussed it.
“If we apply ourselves and continue to improve and the players get more exposure we’ll give ourselves every chance.
“We’ll make it a priority and we’ll strive to do that. I feel that’s realistic for us to want to do that.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
Discussion about this post