The Boys in Green are on the road again.
After the whole country spent Monday evening trying to figure out who Ireland could face in the World Cup play-offs before deciding to leave it to those who knew better, we now know the identity of our four potential opponents.
Considering that all four are seeded by virtue of their higher FIFA ranking, any one of Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Denmark will provide a big obstacle to our chances of making it to Russia next summer.
Before we start thinking as far ahead as the competition itself, the thought of another adventure to cheer on the Boys in Green is an exciting prospect for Irish supporters and, with that in mind, we’ve put together an essential guide for the four potential host cities for Ireland’s away leg early next month.
We’ll know for certain when the draw is made on October 17, but no harm to have some plans ready beforehand…
If we get… Switzerland
Switzerland played home games against the Faroe Islands and Latvia in Lucerne and Geneva during the most recent qualifying campaign, but their big matches tend to take place in St. Jakob Park in Basel, where Liverpool tasted defeat to Sevilla in the final of the 2016 Europa League.
Flights from Ireland
There are currently three weekly Ryanair flights from Dublin Airport to Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg and vice versa (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), but Zurich Airport is a little over an hour away from Basel by car and is served by four direct flights a week from Dublin.
Check out Skyscanner for more details.
Location of stadium
Situated approximately 3km from the city centre, St. Jakob Park is easily accessible via a train from the central station in Basel to St. Jakob station, a journey which takes approximately eight minutes.
Currency
Swiss Franc, one of which is currently worth around €0.87.
Price of a pint*
500ml of draught domestic beer will set you back approximately 8 Swiss Francs (approximately €7).
Irish bars in the city
Flanagan’s, O’Neill’s and Paddy Reilly’s, all of which are within four kilometres of St. Jakob Park.
One thing you need to see away from the football
Rheinfahre. A short ferry ride across the River Rhine is the most popular attraction on TripAdvisor and should take up only an hour of your day.
If we get… Italy
The Azzurri’s five home games in qualifying were played in five different venues in four different cities and it is not yet clear where the home leg of a play-off tie, potentially with Ireland, will take place.
Some of Italy’s more important recent encounters, however, such as their 1-1 draw with Spain just over a year ago, have been played at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium so for the sake of convenience, we’re going to assume that it’ll once again be used for the play-offs next month.
Flights from Ireland
There are no direct flights from any Irish airport to Turin, but there are plenty from Dublin to Milan-Bergamo, approximately two hours to the north-east.
Check out Skyscanner for more details.
Location of stadium
The old Stadio Delle Alpi is situated approximately seven kilometres to the north of Turin and, on matchdays, a special tram service brings fans from the Bernini metro stop directly to the stadium.
Price of a pint
Around €4 for domestic beer.
Irish bars in the city
Murphy’s is popular with rugby fans whenever there are Six Nations games in the city, while The Dubliner, Downpatrick Pub and The James Joyce Pub are all in close proximity to the city centre.
One thing you need to see away from the football
Car fanatics might fancy a trip to Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, home to almost 200 cars, including classic Italian makes such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari.
If we get… Denmark
Flights from Ireland
There are daily flights to Copenhagen from Dublin Airport and if you book in a reasonable amount of time, you should get them for pretty cheap too.
Check out Skyscanner for more details.
Location of stadium
The Telia Parken Stadium is located approximately four kilometres from the city centre and a short walk away from the Østerport station, which is only a six-minute journey from Copenhagen’s central station.
Currency
Danish Krone, one of which is currently worth around €0.13.
Price of a pint
500ml of draught domestic beer will set you back approximately 45 Danish Krone (a little over €6).
Irish bars in the city
The Globe, The Dubliner, The Shamrock and Kennedy’s are all fairly centrally-located, while McGrath’s Irish pub, north of the city centre, is less than a ten-minute walk away from the Telia Parken Stadium.
One thing you need to see away from the football
Although the famous theme park is only in operation from April to September, the Tivoli Gardens in the heart of Copenhagen provide a wonderful setting to soak up the culture of a beautiful city.
If we get… Croatia
Flights from Ireland
There are currently no direct flights from any Irish airport to Zagreb, although it can be reached from Dublin with stops in Munich and Frankfurt along the way.
Check out Skyscanner for more details.
Location of stadium
The Stadion Maksimir lies approximately four kilometres to the city centre and is adjacent to the Maksimir Park, the largest public park in Zagreb.
Numerous trams from the city centre and the city’s main railway station pass by the stadium, trams which tend to travel every 15 minutes or even less.
Currency
Croatian Kuna, one of which is worth approximately €0.13.
Price of a pint
500ml of draught domestic beer will set you back approximately 15 Croatian Kuna (approximately €2).
Irish bars in the city
Sheridan’s Irish pub is about 5km away from the stadium, which can be reached by tram from the pub in under half an hour.
One thing you need to see away from the football
Unless it cuts a little too close to the bone, the Museum of Broken Relationships does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, housing objects and stories from failed romances all over the world.
It even won an award for the most innovative museum in Europe as recently as 2011.
*All estimates on the price of a pint in each city provided by Numbeo
