A handy little boost for Monkeano…
With 24 teams out of 54 qualifying for the 2016 European Championships in France in 2016, it is expected that Ireland must qualify for the duo of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane to be deemed a success. The two men themselves have said as much since they took the job.
That task got just a little bit easier today when Uefa announced the various seedings, with Ireland nestled into the second pot.
Pot 1: Spain (holders), Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pot 2: Ukraine, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Republic of Ireland
Pot 3: Serbia, Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Norway, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Poland
Pot 4: Montenegro, Armenia, Scotland, Finland, Latvia, Wales, Bulgaria, Estonia, Belarus
Pot 5: Iceland, Northern Ireland, Albania, Lithuania, Moldova, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Cyprus
Pot 6: Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar
As we told you yesterday, France will be dropped into one of the groups to make up the numbers but with a bit of luck, our passage to France should be relatively benign. The draw will take place in Nice on February 23.
