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Dates confirmed as Ireland paired with Germany and Ukraine in Euro 2021 qualifying draw

The campaign begins in August 2019 and finishes in October 2020.

LAST UPDATE | 21 Feb 2019

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’s qualification schedule has been confirmed after they discovered their fate at the Euro 2021 qualifying draw in Nyon.

Colin Bell’s side will face Germany, Ukraine, Greece and Montenegro as they attempt to qualify for a major tournament at senior level for the first time ever.

Montenegro are up first on Tuesday 3 September before a home tie against Ukraine on Tuesday 8 October followed by a trip to Greece on Tuesday 12 November.

The action continues in 2020, when Ireland take on Greece and Montenegro in March with a tie against Germany coming up the following month.

Ireland’s final qualification games will take place in June and September against the Ukraine and Germany respectively. 

Speaking to the FAI website after the line-up was confirmed, Bell said the team is pleased to know who they will be facing.

“I know we can compete against every team in the group so we’ll be looking forward to it.

“Germany are obviously one of the top seeds in the world. Ukraine will be a tough team to break down and they’ve really developed in recent years with one or two outstanding players. 

“They’re second seeds so we’ll respect them like we will all of our opponents but guaranteed, the work towards facing the opposition starts now. We’ll be approaching every single game like it is a cup final for us and that is the mentality we will need to get to the finals. 

48 teams will be involved in the competition. There are nine groups to determine the 15 teams that will join tournament hosts England at Euro 2021.

Group winners will qualify automatically, while the three best runners-up will join them, with the six other second-place teams competing to qualify via the play-offs.

The qualifying campaign begins in August 2019 and finishes in October 2020, with the tournament proper taking place in 2021 between 11 July and 1 August.

Despite some encouraging results, most notably a 0-0 draw away to reigning European champions Netherlands, Ireland last year missed out on qualification for the 2019 World Cup, finishing third in their group. 

Further details about Ireland’s Euro 2021 fixtures will be announced at a later date.

Republic of Ireland Euro 2021 qualifying fixtures:

2019

3 September: Montenegro (H)
8 October: Ukraine (H)
12 November: Greece (A)

2020

6 March: Greece (H)
11 March: Montenegro (a)
11 April: Germany (a)
5 June: Ukraine (a)
22 September: Germany (H)

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Author
Paul Fennessy
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