Ireland drawn against Sweden and Finland in World Cup qualifiers
The 2023 Women's World Cup UEGA qualifcation draw in full. Picture: UEFA via Getty Images
Vera Pauw
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Vera Pauw’s Irish women will face Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Georgia in the European qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup.
Sweden and Finland were seeded ahead of third seeds Ireland and only the winners of the group automatically progress. Ireland have yet to qualify for a major tournament.
The three best-ranked runners-up earn a bye into the second round of the play-offs, where they will meet the three sides to come through one-legged play-offs among the remaining six runners-up.
A draw will then pit these six sides against each other in one-legged games, and the two sides with the best record across both this play-off game and the initial group phase will qualify directly for the finals.
The side with the third-best record gets another reprieve, and will break off into a separate play-off system involving all of the continental confederations.
“It’s positive they want to get more teams playing in major tournaments which is always great to seen heading to New Zealand and Australia would be amazing, not many get to see that part of the world from here. So it’s all positive and something to look forward to,” says Ireland defender Claire O’Riordan.
“I don’t even think I’d be able to put it into worlds. It’s such a magnificent event in sport. To be able to say number one you played there and been successful in reaching there is an amazing achievement in itself. But to be there and play would just be out of this world. A lot of work needs to be done in terms of being successful doing that. It’s the dream, it’s the goal someday and we’ll keep working towards it.”
Ireland’s Group A opponents
Sweden
FIFA ranking - 5
World Cup record – Runners-up 2003; 3rd place 1991, 2011, 2019
Coach - Peter Gerhardsson
Star player - Kosovare Asllani
Finland
FIFA ranking - 24
World Cup record – Have never qualified
Coach – Anna Signeul
Star player – Linda Sallstrom
Slovakia
FIFA ranking - 46
World Cup record – Have never qualified
Coach - Peter Kopun
Star player – Dominika Skorgankova
Georgia
FIFA ranking - 126
World Cup record – Have never qualified
Coach – Teimuraz Svanadze
Star player - Ana Cheminava
Complete 2023 Women's World Cup UEFA qualifying draw
Group A: Sweden, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Georgia (Five team group)
Group B: Spain, Scotland, Ukraine, Hungary, Faroe Islands (Five team group)
Group C: Netherlands, Iceland, Czech Republic, Belarus, Cyprus (Five team group)
Group D: England, Austria, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Latvia, Luxembourg
Group E: Denmark, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Malta, Montenegro
Group F: Norway, Belgium, Poland, Albania, Kosovo, Armenia
Group G: Italy, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, Moldova, Lithuania
Group H: Germany, Portugal, Serbia, Israel, Turkey, Bulgaria
Group I: France, Wales, Slovenia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Estonia
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