Ireland women tipped to win their inaugural Uefa Nations League group

EXPECTATIONS: Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland will be favourites to top their Women’s Nations League group and earn promotion to the top tier for the next Euro qualification campaign.

All eyes are on Australia in July and Ireland’s maiden World Cup finals appearance but the road to Switzerland in 2025 pits Ireland against Northern Ireland, Hungary and Albania in a group to be contested, home and away, on dates between September and December.

The Girls in Green narrowly missed out on featuring in League A when Uefa split the 51 nations at the end of the World Cup group series but their status as the highest ranked nation in League B attaches expectation.

Manager Vera Pauw is expected to agree a contract extension before the World Cup to cover the Nations League and she spelt out the objective of claiming supremacy in their pool.

Under a new linkage format, that would seal promotion for the Euro tilt in another four-team group – the top two from which advanced directly to the 16-nation showpiece. The worst-case scenario is a one-off playoff against a League B nation.

The difficulty level to qualify increases by remaining in League B, potentially encompassing two playoff hurdles to navigate.

The North made history by qualifying for last year’s Euros in England but have since parted company with manager Kenny Shiels, the former Derry City boss, and the post remains vacant..

Ireland top the group’s world ranking table at 22, followed by Hungary in 41st place, who finished fourth behind Spain, Ukraine and Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers.

Northern Ireland sit four places further behind Albania languishing in 72.

"Now that we know our opponents for the UEFA Women's Nations League, we can start planning accordingly,” said Pauw.

But our priority for the next few months will, understandably, be on preparing for the Women's World Cup in July.

"Having the UEFA Nations League games gives us something to look forward to after the World Cup.

"For these UEFA Nations League games, we are under no illusion that they will be difficult challenges for us.

“We are the top-seeded team in League B but we cannot take anything for granted if we are to achieve our aim of topping our group and qualifying into League A."

Groups:

League A:

A1: England, Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland; A2: France, Norway, Austria, Portugal; A3: Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Wales. A4: Sweden, Spain, Italy, Switzerland.

League B:

B1: Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Albania; B2: Finland, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia; B3: Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Greece; B4: Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belarus.

League C:

C1: Malta, Moldova, Latvia, Andorra; C2: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Georgia; C3: Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Cyprus, Faroe Islands; C4: Israel, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Armenia; C5: North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria.

Schedule:

Matchdays 1–2: 20–26 September 2023 

Matchdays 3–4: 25–31 October 2023 

Matchdays 5–6: 29 November–5 December 2023 

League A Finals: Between 21 and 28 February 2024 

Promotion/relegation matches: Between 21 and 28 February 2024