World Cup draw: Republic of Ireland get Denmark and Northern Ireland face Switzerland

Both nations avoided four-time winners Italy and will be hopeful of booking their place in Russia next summer.

Martin O’Neill’s Repbublic beat Wales last week to seal their spot as runners-up in Group D while Northern Ireland finished second to Germany in Group C.

The two-legged ties will take place between 9 -14 November, with Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland at home in the opening leg, while the Republic of Ireland travel to Denmark.

Switzerland were unlucky not to reach the finals as winners of Group B, ending the campaign with nine wins from their 10 qualifiers.

They lost to Portugal in the final game of the group to finish behind the European champions and are the highest-ranked nation in the play-offs, sitting 11th in the rankings.

Northern Ireland lost to Germany and Norway in their final two qualifiers but still finished four points clear of Czech Republic to seal their place in the play-offs.

Michael O’Neill took them to the second round at Euro 2016 and they are 23rd in the latest FIFA rankings.

The Republic of Ireland ended their Group D qualification campaign on 19 points, the same as their northern neighbours, as Serbia topped the group.

A James McClean goal was enough for Martin O’Neill’s side to win in Wales last week and secure the play-off berth at the expense of their hosts.

Denmark missed out on the 2014 World Cup but finished second in Group E behind winners Poland as they look to book their fifth appearance at the finals.

Four-times world champions Italy were drawn against Sweden on Tuesday in their two-legged playoff for a place at next year’s World Cup.

Italy, who last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1958, will play the second leg at home in the most eye-catching of the four ties.

World Cup draw live updates: Follow us here with updates on who plays who

Full story

The Republic of Ireland have been drawn against Denmark in the play-offs for the 2018 World Cup while Northern Ireland will face Switzerland for a spot in the finals.

Both nations avoided four-time winners Italy and will be hopeful of booking their place in Russia next summer.

Martin O’Neill’s Repbublic beat Wales last week to seal their spot as runners-up in Group D while Northern Ireland finished second to Germany in Group C.

The two-legged ties will take place between 9 -14 November, with Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland at home in the opening leg, while the Republic of Ireland travel to Denmark.

Draw recap

To recap the first legs will be played November 9 and 11. The return leg takes place between November 12 and 14.

Tough games for Northern Ireland and the Republic but both will be pleased to have avoided both Italy and Croatia.

And that’s a wrap!

Great ball work from Fernando Hierro there.

The draw done in a matter of minutes and some cracking ties to look forward to.

World Cup European play-off draw in full

Northern Ireland vs Switzerland

Croatia vs Greece

Denmark vs Republic of Ireland

Sweden vs Italy

No such wait! 

13.05: We’re ready to go.

Great stuff.

Game one: Northern Ireland vs Switzerland

Game two: Croatia vs Greece

Game three: Denmark vs Republic of Ireland

Game four: Sweden vs Italy

The stage is set

13.00: The balls are ready.

So how long do we reckon then?

Half an hour? 40 minutes? More? The build up and faff to these draws is generally unbearable, but hopefully this can be wrapped up nice and quickly.

How do they normally do?

13.00: The Republic beat Wales to a play-off place and will be hoping to continue their recent run of success in the lottery format.

Two of the Republic’s three wins in eight play-offs have come in the last two attempts, but they have also experienced heartache in the format, including in the bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, when Thierry Henry’s handball helped France to advance.

Martin O’Neill’s men advanced to Euro 2016 at the expense of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs, but Northern Ireland are new to the format after qualifying automatically for the European Championship finals.

The low-down

12.50: We take a look at how the draw will work.

What is the point of the play-offs?

The two-legged ties will determine the four sides who will join Europe’s nine group winners – France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium and Iceland – at Russia 2018. The eight best second-placed teams (Slovakia missed out despite finishing runners-up to England in Group F) will battle for the four remaining qualifying spots. Joining Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the draw are: Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Greece and Croatia.

How will the draw work?

The eight qualified teams have been divided into two pots based on the world rankings, announced by FIFA on Monday. Based on the rankings, Switzerland (11th), Italy (15th), Croatia (18th) and Denmark (19th) will be in pot one and will play one of the four teams in pot two. The second pot will contain Northern Ireland (23rd), Sweden (25th), Republic of Ireland (26th) and Greece (47th), so Northern Ireland and the Republic cannot play each other. Likewise they cannot play Sweden or Greece.

What are Northern Ireland and the Republic’s play-off records?

The Republic have won three of eight play-off ties, but two of those wins have come at the last two attempts, against Estonia to go to Euro 2012 and Bosnia-Herzegovina to advance to Euro 2016. Northern Ireland are new to the play-offs, having qualified automatically for last year’s European Championships.

Who will be the team for Northern Ireland and the Republic to avoid?

Italy. The Azzurri are only in the play-offs because they had the misfortune of being in the same qualifying group as Spain. They may be lower than Switzerland in FIFA’s rankings, but they will still be a formidable opponent.

When will the matches be played?

Home and away fixtures will be played between November 9 and November 15. The order of fixtures will be determined by the draw. Once one ball has been taken from pot one and another from pot two, they will be placed in a central pot, mixed and then drawn one by one. The first ball drawn will host the first leg between November 9 and 11. The return leg takes place between November 12 and 14.

Who goes to Russia?

The winner is decided on aggregate, so the scorer of the most goals advances to the World Cup finals. In event of a draw on aggregate, away goals apply. If there is still no deciding factor at the end of normal time, then the tie will go to extra time (two periods of 15 minutes), with the away goals rule still applicable. If there is still no winner, then the tie will go to a penalty shootout.

Michael O’Neil on the draw 

12.45: Michael O’Neil discusses potential opponents.

“There’s one massive hurdle left and it’s hard to say the draw will be kind,” he O’Neil said.

“Of the four teams we can get, most people would want to avoid the Italians and possibly Croatia. (But) the fact we’re there and have the opportunity is fantastic and one we can enjoy.

“This is something we can’t fear, we have to embrace it and be positive. We’re the smallest nation there, we’re probably the least-favoured nation, but this team has continued to surprise.”

Croatia are the only country Northern Ireland have faced in O’Neill’s time and a team missing Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic were 3-0 winners in November’s Belfast friendly.

Yet even a reunion with the Croatians would not be as difficult as facing the Germans, something Northern Ireland have done three times over the past 16 months – experiences O’Neill believes will benefit his players.

He also thinks Switzerland, who had a 100 per cent record in qualification before losing to Portugal to miss out on top spot, may be affected psychologically by their near miss.

“Croatia have arguably five or six world-class players, but that game probably wasn’t a good reflection,” O’Neill argued.

“We were a bit stretched in terms of resources and coming off the back of beating Azerbaijan in a qualifier.

“One thing I said to the players is having played Germany, whoever we get will not be as difficult as that game. Playing Germany recently has to stick in the players’ mind.

“For Denmark, Christian Eriksen plays a big part, the Italians are maybe more of a team unit, very strong defensively and have that experience of knowing how to get through.

“The Swiss are a bit more unknown. They went through the campaign with nine wins, but are maybe a little bit disappointed coming into these games as they had a chance up until the final game. You just don’t know, mentally that can be difficult.

“Certainly when I look at Switzerland or Denmark, maybe outside of Eriksen, they don’t have the same level of individual players.”

Welcome!

12.40: Welcome to the World Cup play-off draw live.

We will bring you the latest from Zurich as it happens.