A Look Ahead to the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 Qualification Challenges

Before we know it we will be easing into the 2024 European Championship Qualifiers. The Men’s National team will get into gear in March and they are going to want to come out of the gates swinging.

There is a very tough road ahead for Ireland regarding reaching the 2024 European Championships. Odds at popular bookmakers suggested by the page https://match.center/ie/ paint a clear picture that head coach Stephen Kenny’s men have an uphill task ahead of them in the qualifiers.

They will somehow have to overcome the challenges of the Netherlands and 2022 World Cup runners-up France to muscle their way into the top two in the group.

Home Performances are the Key

In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, the Republic of Ireland missed out on a top-two finish in their qualification group by three points. On that occasion, they trailed Switzerland and Denmark. It was a qualification campaign built on resilience and functionality as opposed to being a big attacking threat.

It was an approach that almost got them to the Finals. To their credit, Ireland lost only one of their eight qualification matches. That one loss was a costly one however in such a tight race, as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat in Switzerland.

A good run at home with a W2 D2 record was returned however, and that kept the Republic of Ireland in the picture. They scored five of their seven qualification goals on home turf. Performances by Stephen Kenny’s men at the Aviva is going to be the backbone of any challenge to reach Euro 2024.

Ireland’s Euro 2024 Qualification Opponents

The Republic of Ireland are drawn in Euro 2024 qualifying Group B. They will face the Netherlands, France, Greece and Gibraltar. Chances have to be taken against the latter two without a shadow of a doubt.

They are the type of matches where points can’t be dropped. Then it’s a matter of trying to somehow sneak points off the highly-ranked Dutch and French. Again, the best chance of doing so is going to happen in Dublin.

With a look ahead to the exciting qualification campaign, here are Ireland’s head-to-head records against their opponents. 

Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands

The Irish haven’t bumped into the Dutch since an international friendly contest back in May 2016, so there has been a long gap. The last three meetings between the two nations have been on friendly terms.

The most recent competitive fixtures between Ireland and the Netherlands happened in the World Cup 2002 qualifiers. There was a good return by the Irish in that campaign, taking four points from their two matches against the Dutch.

The victory over the Netherlands came at Lansdowne Road, thanks to a lone goal from Jason McAteer. The Irish have lost only one of their last five against the Oranje (W2 D2 L1).

The Republic of Ireland’s overall record against the Netherlands is W7 D4 L9. 

The Republic of Ireland vs France

The meetings with France are going to test the resolve of the Irish. They have not recorded a victory against the French since the early 1980s. It has been a seven-match winless streak against Les Bleus since then.

The most recent meeting between the two was a friendly in the summer of 2018, which France won 2-0. The last time that the two nations met competitively was at Euro 2016 when Les Bleus recorded a 2-1 victory.

One of the most famous meetings happened in the 2010 FIFA World Cup playoffs. France had won the first leg 1-0 at Croke Park. But in the return leg, the Irish pulled themselves back into the tie, recording a 1-0 win in 90 minutes, sending the tie to extra time.

The tie was settled by a controversial goal scored by William Gallas, but with a big handball in the build-up from former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

The Republic of Ireland’s overall record against France is W4 D5 L8. 

Republic of Ireland vs Greece

There is not so much history between Ireland and Greece. There have only been three previous fixtures and all of them were low-scoring friendly matches. With any eye towards football betting for their meetings in Euro 2024 qualification, more of the same will probably be worth considering.

Ireland does have to buck a poor trend against Greece as they have never beaten the Mediterranean nation. The last time they met, Ireland lost at home 1-0 to Greece.

The Republic of Ireland’s overall record against Greece is W0 D1 L2. 

Republic of Ireland vs Gibraltar

The Republic of Ireland met minnows Gibraltar in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. They got the job done against them on both occasions, extending their 100% record against Gibraltar. It’s been four wins from four for Ireland in their previous meetings, and each of the victories was recorded with a clean sheet. Ireland have won by an average of 3.5 goals per game to nil across their previous fixtures against Gibraltar.

The Republic of Ireland’s overall record against Greece is W4 D0 L0.

Republic of Ireland Euro 2024 Qualification Dates 

● March 27th - Republic of Ireland vs France

● June 16th - Greece v Republic of Ireland

● June 19th - Republic of Ireland vs Gibraltar

● September 7th - France vs Republic of Ireland

● September 10th - Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands

● October 13th - Republic of Ireland vs Greece

● October 16th - Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland

● November 18th - Netherlands vs Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland European Championship History

There have been three previous appearances by the Irish team in the European Championships. Their debut came in 1988 in Germany when they bowed out in the Group stage with a W1 D1 L1 record.

Irish fans had to wait more than two decades to see the men in green back on the big international stage. But at Euro 2012, Ireland once again couldn’t get past the group stage, losing all three fixtures played.

Four years later in France, they made a breakthrough by reaching the Round of 16. After finishing third in their group behind Italy and France thanks to a defining victory over the Italians, Ireland were defeated 2-1 by hosts France in the Round of 16. 

The Republic of Ireland’s overall record in the European Championships is P10 W2 D2 L6.