Ireland meet Slovakia in Bratislava on Thursday, October 8th with the match kicking off at 7.45pm Irish time. Ireland are in Path B of the playoffs (determined by the 2018/19 Nations League positions) and will meet Slovakia in the semi-finals while Bosnia & Herzegovina welcome Northern Ireland in the other semi-final. Should Ireland beat Slovakia they will play the winners of the other match in either Sarajevo or Belfast on November 12th. Ireland, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Northern Ireland satisfied that criteria from League B so that is why Ireland are now in a mini-tournament with those three other teams. Essentially, with 24 teams qualifying for the final tournament, Ireland are being given every opportunity possible to get there.

Source: The Irish Times October 05, 2020 13:04 UTC