Draw for League B
Group 1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia
Group 2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland
Group 3: Israel, Austria, Ireland, Kosovo
Group 4: Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden
Key read: [Republic of Ireland could face Israel in Nations League]
Well, there was no appearance from ‘Johnny’ Infantino, Donald Trump or the ‘Village People’ this time, but there always seems to be a big story after major draws these days!
The FAI have already cleared up their stance on the Nations League fixtures against Israel set for later this year. Last year, Basketball Ireland faced similar potential punishments when they were drawn against Israel, and eventually opted to fulfil the match as well. Stephen Conneely reported on that story last July.
[Basketball Ireland ‘assessing next steps’ after women’s team drawn in group with Israel]
The FAI have released a statement saying they will fulfil their fixtures against Israel.
“The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirms that the Ireland Men’s National Team will fulfil their 2026 UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel after being drawn together in Group B3.
In 2025, a motion was proposed by members of the FAI General Assembly to vote on issuing a formal request to the UEFA Executive Committee for the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from UEFA competitions for a breach of UEFA statutes. Members then voted in favour to submit the motion to UEFA, which the Association did in November 2025.
While consultation has taken place with UEFA officials, the Association does recognise that UEFA regulations outline that if an association refuses to play a match then that fixture will be forfeited and further disciplinary measures may follow – including potential disqualification from the competition."
League A:
Group 1: France, Italy, Belgium, Turkiye
Group 2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
Group 3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia
Group 4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales
Former Portugal defender Pepe is on stage for the draw of League A.
League B
Group 1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia
Group 2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland
Group 3: Israel, Austria, Ireland, Kosovo
Group 4: Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden
Sweden were originally drawn into Group 3 with Ireland, but Kosovo could not play Bosnia-Herzegovina, so it was redrawn.
Patrick Vieira is on to do the draw for League B.
Ireland have been drawn into Group 3 joining Israel and Austria.
League C
Group 1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino
Group 2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia/Gibraltar (play-off winner)
Group 3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group 4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembough/Malta (play-off winner)
Onto League C now, there’s a wide array of skill levels across the teams, from San Marino up to Slovakia. Fernando Llorente is the next one up to pick names out of the hat.
Things are going in ascending order, so League D is first.
The only restriction for League B’s draw is that Bosnia-Herzegovina cannot be in the same group as Kosovo.
Former Belgium international Mbo Mpenza has joined the hosts on stage for the draw, as has Uefa deputy secretary general Giorgio Marchetti. The draw should begin shortly.
The Nations League draw ceremony is underway in Brussels now, but there will likely be a lot of the usual messing around and talking beforehand. Right now there’s some people in robot suits doing a dance, although we’re clearly getting closer to the real stuff now, as they’ve started doing keepy-uppies.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side have confirmed two friendlies before this summer’s World Cup. Should Ireland qualify, their preparation for a first World Cup in 24 years would involve a home game against Qatar on May 28th and a trip to Canada to play the co-hosts on June 6th, just a week before their opening game of the tournament.
Ireland got a tough group last time out in the Nations League, drawing England, Greece, and Finland. Finishing on 6 points after two wins over Finland and four losses elsewhere in the group, Ireland had to beat Bulgaria in a play-off last year to maintain League B status.
Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin refused to be drawn on his Fifa counterpart Gianni Infantino’s comments about ending the ban on Russian teams in European competitions. Infantino stated that the ban had “not achieved anything”, while Čeferin cautiously commented “I can only say that I do not want to enter into dispute here.” However, the Slovenian official also said that Uefa has not changed its position, writes Gavin Cummiskey.
[Uefa boss Aleksander Čeferin declines to support Gianni Infantino comments on Russia ban]
Ireland’s possible opponents from today’s draw are:
Pot 1: Israel, Hungary, Poland, Scotland
Pot 2: Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, Ukraine
Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Slovenia, Romania
Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Sweden, North Macedonia, Kosovo
It’s hard to believe now, but Evan Ferguson was Ireland’s clear starting number nine, until injuries ruled him out and paved the way for the coronation of Troy Parrott. With Ferguson now stuck behind new Roma signing, Donyell Malen, the 21-year-old’s ankle injuries seem to have cost him his spot in the pecking order for the Italian giants. In his column yesterday, Kevin Kilbane criticised Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini’s comments about the youngster’s injury record.
[Kevin Kilbane: Gasperini’s negative comments about Evan Ferguson have gone too far]
With such a positive vibe surrounding the Irish team following Troy Parrott’s heroics in Budapest last November, one negative story could be on the horizon, as Gavin Cummiskey reported yesterday. Israel are among the four teams that Ireland could draw from pot one today, only months after the FAI called on Uefa to suspend the Israel Football Association from European club and international competitions. He also sets the scene for how the draw and qualifiers will work, as well as when Ireland will play these fixtures.
[Republic of Ireland could face Israel in Nations League]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Nations League draw in Brussels. The draw will commence at 5pm Irish time and will decide who the Republic of Ireland face in six fixtures from September to November this year. Ireland are in pot three of League B, with Austria, Switzerland and, our recent foes Hungary among the major teams that the ‘Boys in Green’ could face.
