COYBIG.
Updated 10/10, 9.35pm
We did it the hard way but then again, would you expect anything else from the Irish? After all the permutations, ifs and buts, we’re headed for the World Cup play-offs after doing the impossible and beating Wales in their own backyard.
Jeff Hendrick’s piece of wizardry on the right wing was something else, how the ball managed to stay in play is beyond us, but it did.
Hendrick might have spotted Harry Arter on the edge of the box but Arter had other ideas, a quick hop and a jump and the ball flew between his legs and landed at the feet of James McClean.
How he didn’t form a ball-shaped hole in the bottom of the Wales Net was beyond us. It was a bullet of a shot and as he wheeled away in celebration, the Irish faithful held their breath for the remainder of the game.
We all raced to our phone to see how the Serbia game was going and although the best case scenario has gone out the window, we would have taken both of your arms if you had given us the option of a play-off place at the start of the game.
The eight teams in the play-offs are: Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece/Bosnia and Croatia.
Of those eight teams, the top four will be seeded based on the FIFA world ranking which will be revealed on 17 October.
Currently, Ireland are 34th in the ranking and the only other team that remain lower than them that are in the play-offs also are Greece.
This would mean that currently they are unseeded and face a tougher draw.
Portugal are in the top ten with Italy, Croatia and Northern Ireland, the other top-ranked sides, however, those positions could change based on this week’s results…
For now, then, Ireland’s possible opponents in the play-offs are Switzerland, Italy, Croatia or Denmark.
The play-off first legs will be played between November 9-11 with the return legs on between November 12-14.
