Ireland handed France and Netherlands in tough Euro draw

Former champions Greece and Gibraltar round out the group for Stephen Kenny's side.

Sun, 09 Oct, 2022 - 11:27

John Fallon

Ireland have been handed a daunting path to Euro 2024, facing Netherlands and France in the group that drawn this morning in Frankfurt.

World champions France, along with England, were the surprise entrants to the second pot of nations, having finished third in the recent Nations League campaign and were a team to avoid.

Unfortunately, that is the fate that has befallen Ireland and the Netherlands – as one of the four teams in the Nations League finals – will also present formidable opposition.

Ronald Koeman is due to succeed Louis Van Gaal after the upcoming World Cup.

Also in Ireland’s group are Greece and Gilbraltar. Only the two top teams advance to the tournament but Ireland are likely to have the fallback of a place in the playoffs if they don’t manage to separate two of the world’s powerhouses.

The matches are scheduled between March and November of 2023.

Stephen Kenny, who attended a draw which also had Robbie Keane present as a guest of Uefa, has identified the campaign as the culmination of his rebuilding project.

His record of just six wins from 28 matches after two years at the helm has generated debate about the direction of the team under his management but his selling point amid the pain of defeats to Luxembourg and Armenia has been the readiness of his squad for this tilt of returning Ireland to the country they first appeared at a tournament at Euro 1988.

Group A - Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus

Group B - Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar

Group C - Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta

Group D - Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia

Group E - Poland, Czech Republic, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Group F - Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia

Group G - Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania

Group H - Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino

Group I - Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra

Group J - Portugal, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein

Qualifying match dates 23–25 March 2023: Matchday 1.

26–28 March: Matchday 2.