Nov 23,2024
The Republic of Ireland will face Bulgaria in their UEFA Nations League B/C relegation/promotion play-off.
Heimir Hallgrimsson's side finished third in League B Group 2. They beat Finland at home and away but slumped to four defeats against Greece and England, who inflicted a 5-0 drubbing on the Boys in Green at Wembley last Sunday.
That was a disheartening way to end the year for Ireland, but Hallgrimsson will hope they can boost morale in the spring with a victory over two legs that would preserve their League B status.
If Ireland are beaten, they will drop down to League C for the first time.
The games will take place on Thursday 20 and Sunday 23 March 2025. Ireland, as a seeded League B team, will have home advantage for the second leg.
Bulgaria, ranked 84th in the world, finished second behind Northern Ireland in Group C3.
Ireland last played Bulgaria in the 2020 Nations League, drawing 0-0 in Dublin and 1-1 in Sofia.
The Boys in Green have not lost to Bulgaria in six meetings since 1987.
Elsewhere, Scotland have been drawn against Greece in the Nations League play-offs to stay in the top tier.
In the League A quarter-finals for the top-ranked nations, reigning champions Spain will play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals while former tournament winners France take on Croatia.
Germany were drawn against Italy while Portugal, who were winners of the inaugural edition of the Nations League, will face Denmark.
While the quarter-finals will be played over two legs home and away in March, the semi-finals are single legs which will take place in June, with the third-place playoff and final to be played three days later.
European champions Spain, Portugal and Germany topped their groups without losing a game to go into the seeded teams' pot along with France.
Spain have not played the Netherlands since a friendly match in November 2020. In their last competitive game, the Dutch thrashed the then-reigning world champions 5-1 at the 2014 World Cup.
The winners of that game will play either Croatia or France in the semi-finals. France and Croatia have played each other four times in the Nations League.
