Ireland to face Poland, Wales, Czechia or Slovakia in World Cup play-off semi-final

Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson celebrates after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F Qualifier match between Hungary and the Republic of Ireland. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland will have an away World Cup play-off semi-final, facing one of Poland, Wales, Czechia and Slovakia on March 26.

Heimir Hallgrímsson will be at Fifa headquarters in Zurich on Thursday to witness which of the quartet his team face, along with the potential finalists they’ll meet five days later for a place at the showpiece.

Any hope Ireland had of being part of Pot 2 was obliterated by Wales hammering North Macedonia 7-1. 

The other result Ireland needed to jump from Pot 3 went their way, Bosnia Herzegovina drawing with Austria, but both were required to cause the reshuffle.

Next summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico, is the first to feature 48 teams, 16 of which will qualify from Europe.

The full complement of 12 direct qualifiers were confirmed on Tuesday night when the regular qualifying series contested over eight months came to a conclusion.

Ireland confirmed their runners-up slot in dramatic fashion by coming from behind to beat Hungary 3-2.

They, along with the 11 other runners-up, will be joined by four qualifiers from last year’s Uefa Nations League.   

Wales put their patchy recent form behind them to cruise into the playoffs by hammering North Macedonia.

They’d lost four of their previous five matches heading into this final window but followed by a narrow 1-0 triumph in Liechtenstein on Saturday by putting on a show before their home crowd.

Troy Parrott celebrates. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Skipper Harry Wilson fired a hat-trick in the romp. The former Liverpool prodigy and David Brooks gave Wales a 2-0 first-half lead before Bojan Miovski replied instantly.

Brennan Johnson regained the two-goal cushion approaching the break and Daniel James swept home before Wilson, on the armband debut, took the limelight. He’ll the man Ireland must watch if the Celtic cousins are drawn together.

Wales boss Craig Bellamy last week batted away speculation about him with the vacancy at his former club Celtic by pledging his future to Wales.

The Welsh FA are led by Limerick native Noel Mooney, the former FAI general manager, and his team appointed Cardiff-born Bellamy last year in succession to the sacked Robert Page.

Bellamy has worked with Ireland midfield mainstay Josh Cullen, receiving a recommendation from his former teammate Lee Bowyer to recruit the playmaker from West Ham United for Anderlecht. 

He was assistant to Vincent Kompany in Belgium and the trio continued their relationship when moving back to the UK to Burnley.

Poland’s main man remains Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski at the ripe age of 37.

After eight rounds of fixtures, Poland finished second in qualifying Group G with 14 points, three behind table-toppers Netherlands.

They were assured of runners-up, ahead of Finland, entering Monday’s final game against Malta but the side ranked 33 in the world struggled past the one in lowly 166, edging the game 3-2 thanks to an 85th-minute winner.

Captain Lewandowski opened the scoring with a header before Irvin Cardona pounced on an error to equalise four minutes.

Despite Paweł Wszołek restoring Poland's lead, Teddy Teuma pulled Malta level again with a penalty, leaving them relying on Piotr Zieliński to pinch a late third.

Jan Urban (63) is only five months in the position, having succeeded Michal Probierz. The latter departed in acrimonious circumstances after star striker Robert Lewandowski announced he would not play for the team under his guidance.

He represented Poland at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico 1986, before enjoying a lengthy coaching career. He served as assistant manager with Poland at Euro 2008 and also managed Legia Warsaw.

Czechia sealed their spot in the playoffs by finishing behind Croatia. They collected 16 points from eight matches but among their two defeats was last month’s 2-1 loss away to the Faroe Islands.

That loss hastened the exit of Ivan Hašek as manager. Jaroslav Kostl is in caretaker charge, with the intention of appointing a permanent boss in time for the playoff. Local legend Pavel Nedvěd is in the mix to fill the vacancy.

West Ham United’s Tomáš Souček, at 30, forms their backbone, while striker Patrik Schick of Bayer Leverkusen always poses a threat.

Slovakia elbowed Northern Ireland out of their way to finish second behind a rampant Germany in Group A.

Tomas Bobcek's stoppage-time goal slayed Michael O’Neill’s side on Friday night, the debutant taking only three minutes on the pitch to steer Laszlo Benes’ corner home.

Encouragingly for Ireland, they’ll go into the draw on the back of a 6-0 pummelling by Germany. 

Four first-half goals did the damage to the side managed by Italian Francesco Calzona.