Euro 2024 qualifiers: UEFA Euro qualifiers are going on and the situation is getting complicated for some teams. Few teams have booked their place in the main event like Spain, Scotland, France and Portugal. However, things are still problematic for few teams.
Ireland also finds themselves in a strange situation where they can even qualify for Euro 2024 if they lose to the Netherlands. Defeat against the Dutch will give them some chances to book a place for Germany. Few teams will qualify through groups and few will enter in the playoffs.
Group B is one of the interesting groups where Ireland is placed along with France, Netherlands, Gibraltar and Greece. France have made into the final events with an unbeaten run in Euro qualifiers. Netherlands are also in a good position as they are still three points 2nd placed Greece but they have one game in hand. Ireland have lost five of their six games in qualifiers.
Despite a poor show in qualifiers, their chances of qualifying for Euro 2024 aren’t quite over yet. Nations League has opened the door for Irish side which is also a UEFA competition. It was concluded in June when Spain won it after beating Croatia in the final. Ireland have a good chance to use the Nations League performance. As per UEFA, the best-performing sides from the Nations League can get a chance.
Ireland have to crack the playoffs first. Playoffs will lead their way to Euro 2024. If they want to be in playoffs, there cannot be more than seven teams above them in the Nations League rankings that failed to qualify through the ongoing qualifying rounds. Netherlands and Greece are two teams who are fighting for the direct qualification. Dutch have the best rankings compared to Greece and it can help Ireland for playoffs.
Ireland have a simple equation now as they should help Netherlands to finish in the top two. Dutch are three points behind Greece with one game in hand. They will automatically reach the second spot if they beat Ireland. If Netherlands lose to Ireland, it will knock Ireland out of the playoff race. It will also help Greece as they will have a 3-point advantage after 6 games.
UEFA didn’t take care of these complications when they introduced the Nations League as a way of qualifying for the Euros. Ireland will meet Gibraltar midweek to earn their second victory of the competition. Their most important tie is in November against Netherlands. Ireland will travel to the Netherlands to take advantage of Nation League qualification rule. It would be interesting to see how they perform or how they act to perform. However, Netherlands have beaten Ireland in the reverse fixture in Dublin.
