For those of you wondering, the draw is due to get underway at 11am.
23 Feb 2014
10:54AM
Sean St Ledger is speaking on Sky Sports News now.
He describes qualifying for the last Euros as “the best feeling I’ve ever had”. He also acknowledges that the arrival of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane has brought a “renewed interest” in the team in Ireland.
John Delaney tells RTE that it was “six or seven years ago” that the FAI made the presentation to encourage footballing authorities to instigate a 24-team tournament.
He insists that it “won’t be easy” despite the increase in available qualifying spots.
23 Feb 2014
11:13AM
John Delaney also talks about how there are no longer meetings to determine when the teams will play each other.
It’s now a randomised computer system, so the dates of the fixtures’ occurrences will be revealed later this afternoon.
As it happened: The draw for the Euro 2016 qualifiers
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Hello, and welcome to our liveblog for today’s Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Martin O’Neill is about to discover who his first competitive game as Ireland manager will be against.
Here are the respective pots for the draw. As you’ll see, Ireland are in Pot 2.
Confused about the various permutations of the draw?
This comprehensive explainer by Ben Blake should answer any questions you may have.
For those of you wondering, the draw is due to get underway at 11am.
Sean St Ledger is speaking on Sky Sports News now.
He describes qualifying for the last Euros as “the best feeling I’ve ever had”. He also acknowledges that the arrival of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane has brought a “renewed interest” in the team in Ireland.
We’re just about to get proceedings underway…
John Delaney tells RTE that it was “six or seven years ago” that the FAI made the presentation to encourage footballing authorities to instigate a 24-team tournament.
He insists that it “won’t be easy” despite the increase in available qualifying spots.
John Delaney also talks about how there are no longer meetings to determine when the teams will play each other.
It’s now a randomised computer system, so the dates of the fixtures’ occurrences will be revealed later this afternoon.
This seems to be the consensus on Twitter.
While we’re waiting, we couldn’t help but do a best and worst case scenario for Ireland.
Best-case scenario: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Azerbaijan, San Marino.
Worst-case scenario: Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, Iceland, Kazakhstan.
Holland and Bosnia are the first two teams to be drawn out.
They will be in Group A and B respectively.
Here’s how we’re looking so far…
Group A: Holland
Group B: Bosnia
Group C: Spain
Group D: Germany
Group E: England
Group F: Greece
Group G: Russia
Group H: Italy
Group I: Portugal
Ireland will certainly want to avoid Group C and D.*
*Touches wood.
Here’s the latest developments (poor Luxembourg):
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra.
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg.
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar.
Spain initially got Gibraltar, but the latter were moved into Group D, as they can’t face each other for “political reasons”.
Group B is looking like a good one for Ireland currently…
Only countries beginning with ‘g’ can seemingly be put in Group D…
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan, Iceland
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg, Macedonia
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia.
It’s getting interesting now. Northern Ireland have a decent draw so far, as they’ve been paired with Greece and Faroe Islands.
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan, Iceland
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg, Macedonia
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia.
Group E: England, San Marino, Lithuania.
Group F: Greece, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland.
Group G: Russia, Liechtenstein, Moldova.
Group H: Italy, Malta, Azerbaijan.
Group I: Portugal, Albania.
Group B is still looking a relatively good bet for Ireland.
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan, Iceland, Latvia.
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus, Wales.
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Belarus.
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia, Scotland.
Just two pots remain now. Armenia were originally drawn with Azerbaijan, who had to be moved to Group I once again for “political reasons”.
The draw is being made by famous national goalkeepers, with Dino Zoff the latest to take the stage, while Pat Jennings showed up earlier.
We’re finally ready for Pot Two*
*Crosses fingers for Group B.
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan, Iceland, Latvia, Turkey.
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus, Wales, Israel.
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Belarus, Slovakia.
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia, Scotland, Poland.
Group E: England, San Marino, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia.
Group F: Greece, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland, Finland, Romania.
Group G: Russia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Austria.
Group H: Italy, Malta, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Norway.
Group I: Portugal, Albania, Armenia, Serbia.
Not a great draw for Ireland…
Group A: Holland, Kazhakhstan, Iceland, Latvia, Turkey, Czech Republic.
Group B: Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus, Wales, Israel, Belgium.
Group C: Spain, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Belarus, Slovakia, Ukraine.
Group D: Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia, Scotland, Poland, Ireland.
Group E: England, San Marino, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Switzerland.
Group F: Greece, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland, Finland, Romania, Hungary.
So here’s how the full draw looks…
Here’s a graphic that illustrates the draw (via @gavreilly)
Eamon Dunphy has called it a “tough draw,” while David Forde tells RTE that he is optimistic that can get second place in that group.
Right that’s all from me for now, but we’ll have more reaction to come.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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