Irish Women draw France
Credit:
The Republic of Ireland women's senior team will face France, Scotland, Wales and Israel in group 4 of the qualifying phase of the UEFA EURO 2013 Championship following the draw at UEFA headquarters earlier today (Monday).
The 38 hopefuls were split into seven groups, three of six and four of five, which will eventually produce 11 qualifiers to join hosts Sweden in the finals. The group winners and best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) will qualify for the finals alongside hosts Sweden.
The six remaining runners-up will contest home-and-away play-off matches on 20/21 and 24/25 October 2012, with the three winners of these ties also qualifying. The 12-team finals will be played in July 2013.
Speaking after the draw at UEFA headquarters, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland manager, Sue Ronan said, "Whenever you are drawn in the same group as France, it is always going to be difficult. The French are ranked 8th in the world and are currently preparing to take part in this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany but it is a brilliant opportunity for us to test ourselves against a team of that stature and hopefully do well. We are also in store for an intriguing number of games with our neighbours Scotland and Wales while we once again go head to head with a very physical Israel side who are improving all of the time," she said.
The 38 hopefuls were split into seven groups, three of six and four of five, which will eventually produce 11 qualifiers to join hosts Sweden in the finals. The group winners and best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) will qualify for the finals alongside hosts Sweden.
The six remaining runners-up will contest home-and-away play-off matches on 20/21 and 24/25 October 2012, with the three winners of these ties also qualifying. The 12-team finals will be played in July 2013.
Speaking after the draw at UEFA headquarters, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland manager, Sue Ronan said, "Whenever you are drawn in the same group as France, it is always going to be difficult. The French are ranked 8th in the world and are currently preparing to take part in this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany but it is a brilliant opportunity for us to test ourselves against a team of that stature and hopefully do well. We are also in store for an intriguing number of games with our neighbours Scotland and Wales while we once again go head to head with a very physical Israel side who are improving all of the time," she said.
