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Denmark stand between Ireland and a World Cup adventure next summer

When we asked you who you'd prefer Ireland to get in the 2018 FIFA World Cup playoffs, 61% of you...



Denmark stand between Ireland...
Soccer

Denmark stand between Ireland and a World Cup adventure next summer

When we asked you who you'd prefer Ireland to get in the 2018 FIFA World Cup playoffs, 61% of you went for Denmark.

And as fate would have it, it's the Danes who Martin O'Neill's side will face in Dublin and Copenhagen over two legs next month.

Former Spain and Real Madrid captain Fernando Hierro had already pulled out the balls containing Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Croatia and Greece.

That left Ireland facing either Denmark or four time World Cup winners Italy and in the end we avoided that latter fate...     

 

And there is a bonus to the way the balls were pulled up by Hierro in that Ireland go away to Denmark in the first leg before bringing the tie back to Dublin.

So elsewhere in the draw, Northern Ireland have been drawn against Switzerland, while Italy have got Sweden and Croatia are facing Greece in November's playoff ties for a place in the World Cup next summer.

We'll be chatting to Ireland manager Martin O'Neill on Off The Ball tonight so stay tuned from 7pm. 

In the immediate wake of the draw, he spoke to FIFA: "First of all we're pleased to be in the draw and we had to win our last couple of matches to get here, and being one of the unseeded teams, it was going to be a difficult tie for us.

"I think that we're obviously delighted to be in it. I know Denmark and I know the manager, he and I used to play together - Age Hareide - and so it will be an interesting confrontation." 


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