Ireland's route to next year's World Cup has become clearer following today's draw.
Heimir Halgrimsson's men will take on Czech Republic in next year's massive World Cup play-off semi-final.
The draw was made in Switzerland this lunchtime.
The winners of that match will play the winner of the semi between Denmark and North Macedonia in the one-legged final, and in great news for Ireland fans, that final would be in Dublin, if Ireland make it through.
Managed by Jaroslav Kosti, the Czech Republic are ranked 44th in the world, and finished second in their group behind Croatia.
They're chasing a place in the World Cup for the first time since 2006 - their drought is nearly as long as ours!
We will face Czechia in the FIFA World Cup 26 Qualifying Play-Off Semi-Final
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) November 20, 2025
If we progress through our Semi-Final tie we will face Denmark or North Macedonia at home in a Play-Off Final at the Aviva Stadium
🇨🇿 v 🇮🇪 | Thu 26th March 2026
🇮🇪 v 🇩🇰/🇲🇰 | Tue 31st March 2026 pic.twitter.com/UgjRkVYEcC
Their key players are captain, Tomas Soucek, along with Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick and Hoffenheim's Vladimir Coufal.
All is not well in the Czech camp. After their 6-0 win over Gibraltar on Monday night, the Czech FA issued a statement hitting out at the players for allegedly ignoring their fans after the full-time whistle. Supporters have been critical of the team’s performances recently.
Captain, West Ham's Tomas Soucek, was stripped of the captaincy for their next game and the players will also miss out on financial bonuses, which will instead go to charity.
The sides last met in a friendly in 2012 which saw the sides draw one apiece.
The single-leg semi-final will take place on Thursday, March 26th, with the winners going through to a single-leg final on Tuesday, March 31st.
All semi-final hosts must confirm their stadium by December 19th.
