Don't look now, but the UEFA Nations League is back. While all of the focus of Irish football fans is currently on the upcoming Euro 2020 play-off against Slovakia, the draw for the 2020 Nations League is actually set to take place tomorrow afternoon.
Ireland did not have a happy experience in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Paired in a group alongside Wales and Denmark, Martin O'Neill's side failed to win a single match.
It was initially expected that the bottom placed finish in that group would see Ireland relegated to 'League C', the competition's third tier, for 2020. However, a reformatting from UEFA has resulted in Ireland maintaining their place in the division.
There will now be four teams in each group in leagues 'A', 'B', and 'C', as opposed to the three in 2018. Every team will meet twice, resulting in six games in total. Similar promotion and relegation criteria will remain in place.
League D will have only seven teams.
So, who can Ireland get? With 16 teams in League B, there are quite a few possibilities. However, the seeded nature of the draw means we know three countries who we cannot get.
Ireland find themselves in 'pot 3' alongside Slovakia, Turkey, and Northern Ireland, meaning we cannot draw those teams. Each group will consist of one team from each pot.
Here's the seedings in full:
UEFA Nations League B
Pot 1: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
Pot 2: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland
Pot 3: Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania
There aren't too many soft touches included in that group. The draw takes place in Amsterdam tomorrow at 5pm Irish time.
The six games will be played off between September and November, with the 2022 World Cup qualifiers getting underway early next year.
This tournament will offer Stephen Kenny a first opportunity to take a look the players in his squad, with the former Dundalk boss set to take over from Mick McCarthy after Euro 2020.
