Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Eamon Doggett

Ireland's path to the World Cup: The play-offs explained for Vera Pauw's side

After a thrilling victory over Finland at Tallaght Stadium, the Republic of Ireland have guaranteed themselves a spot into the play-offs for a place at the Women's World Cup.

But, while that much is clear, Ireland's potential play-off path is muddy and could get muddier.

Ireland might only need to win one match to make the finals in Australia and New Zealand, or they could end up needing to win four matches.

Here is how it works...

There are 11 spots for European teams from nine qualifying groups at the World Cup. These are filled by the nine group winners and two of the nine runners-up.

The three best runners-up (most points) receive byes to round 2, while the other six teams play three round 1 matches on 6 October.

Although guaranteed of a second place finish behind Sweden, Ireland are currently in fourth place and just outside the top three runners-up places.

A win over Slovakia in their final group game is needed if Ireland are to bag one of the three best runners-up spots and go straight into Round 2, but they would still need other results to go their way.

The three Round 1 winners will progress to Round 2, which will be an open draw, so the one-leg matches could be played at home or away.

But even winning a Round 2 match does not guarantee you a ticket to the World Cup.

The two winners of the round 2 matches with the highest ranking (based on results in the qualifying group stage and the round 2 games) will progress to the World Cup finals.

For the unlucky third team, though, they go into the inter-confederation play-offs from 17 to 23 February in New Zealand where they will be placed in a three-team group with two of the following: Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Cameroon, Senegal, Haiti, Panama, Chile and Papa New Guinea.

If winning your play-off group, you will be going to the World Cup - full stop. But it is not inconceivable that Ireland will still have to win four play-off matches to reach the finals.

READ NEXT

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.