LAST UPDATE | 20 Jun 2018
DUNDALK, SHAMROCK ROVERS and Derry City have all learned their Europa League opponents after the first qualifying round draw was made this morning in Nyon, Switzerland.
Fixture details have yet to be confirmed, but the two-legged ties are scheduled to be played on 12 and 19 July.
Dundalk will face Levadia Tallinn of Estonia, Shamrock Rovers are to take on Swedish outfit AIK, while Derry have been drawn against Dinamo Minsk of Belarus.
Both Derry and Rovers are due to be at home in the first leg of their ties, with Dundalk travelling to Estonia first before welcoming their opponents back to Louth.
Having been one of the seeded teams in the draw due to their previous success in Europe, Dundalk would appear to have been dealt the kindest draw.
Levadia, who won the Estonian Cup last month and finished second in their domestic league last season, have faced Irish opposition on four previous occasions. The most recent of those meetings was last year, when they lost 6-2 on aggregate to Cork City.
AIK currently sit in second place — where they also finished last season — after 12 rounds in the Swedish top flight. Sebastian Larsson joined AIK from Hull City last week but he may miss the clash with Rovers due to his involvement with Sweden’s World Cup squad.
Dinamo Minsk were second-place finishers in Belarus last season, which is also the position they currently occupy after 12 games of the campaign. They were 2-1 aggregate winners over St Patrick’s Athletic in the Europa League in 2016-17.
The draw for the second qualifying round was also made this afternoon. Should Dundalk advance from the opening round, they will face AEK Larnaca of Cyprus — who coincidentally eliminated Cork City from the Europa League last season.
Shamrock Rovers would progress to a meeting with Cliftonville (Northern Ireland) or Nordsjælland (Denmark). Derry City would take on Dunajská Streda (Slovakia) or Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia).
Those ties are scheduled for 26 July and 2 August.
Not much cover at RB may bring in Rafael or Fabio
@Hightower: with Danilo on the bench.
Such a pity, last chance to represent his country in a major tournament, gotta feel for the man.
@Now or Never: absolute douche tho.
Are they certain??? I mean he does have form with faking injury. Maybe this is his best performance yet?
Best RB ever to play the game. Shame.
@Marko Polo: cafu
@Stephen Bolger: John O Shea
@Clay Davis: Paul McShane
Shame. He’s an entertaining player to watch