Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland are among eight sides who, after competing in qualifiers spread across two years, have nudged one step closer towards next summer’s European Championships by finishing second in their respective groups to enter the play-offs.
The draw to will take place in Krakow on Tuesday, with the four winners joining co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, holders Spain, Germany, Russia, Italy, France, Holland, Greece, England, Denmark and Sweden at next summer’s football showpiece.
The draw will be seeded, meaning those with the four best national team coefficients will not play against each other. Here is a closer look at the teams involved:
The seeded sides:
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo and co will be disappointed to be in the play-offs after losing a ‘winner-takes-all’ contest with Denmark at the top of Group H. Nicklas Bendtner grabbed the winner in Copenhagen to send Denmark through automatically, meaning Paulo Bento’s men (33/1 World Cup 2014 outright) had to be satisfied with second spot.
They have a fine record, though, at European Championships with one semi-final and two quarter-final appearances in the last four tournaments, as well as being runners-up when hosting the tournament in 2004. Definitely one for the others to avoid in Thursday’s draw.
Republic Of Ireland
Trapattoni’s men (80/1 Euro 2012 outright) beat Armenia 2-1 in a nervy encounter in Dublin this week to ensure they took second place behind winners Russia in Group B.
They received a pre-draw boost by being named as seeds, meaning they avoid the likes of Portugal and Croatia. Irish hearts still carry with them a burning sense of injustice after Thierry Henry’s handball helped France knock the Irish out of the World Cup play-offs two years ago.
That determination to right the wrongs of that night in the Stade De France should see them home – just.
Croatia
Four years ago Croatia (50/1 Euro 2012 outright) revelled in being the masters of Steve McClaren’s downfall at a soggy Wembley.
However, after losing in the quarter-finals at Euro 2008 on penalties to Turkey, Slaven Bilic’s men didn’t even make the 2010 World Cup, with England gaining revenge by beating them twice in qualifying. Bilic was expected to resign after that disappointment but he has stayed on and guided them to second place in Group F, behind shock winners Greece.
Czech Republic
Michal Bilek’s men broke Scottish hearts by beating Lithuania 4-1 on Tuesday and ensuring it was they and not Craig Levein’s side who went through to the play-offs.
They will be hoping to continue their record of qualifying for every European Championships since gaining independence in 1992. They were memorable runners-up in England in 1996 and reached the semi-finals in 2004 – losing to the eventual winners on both occasions – but are perhaps considered the weakest of the four seeded teams (66/1 Euro 2012 outright).
The unseeded sides:
Turkey
Irish fans will be nervously hoping they are not paired with Guus Hiddink’s Turkey (80/1 World Cup 2014 outright).
Unpredictable and volatile – especially at home – their recent performances in major tournaments suggest you can never be quite sure what you are going to get.
After failing to qualify for Euro 2004 they went all the way to the semi-finals in 2008. They also reached the last four at World Cup 2002, but have failed to even reach the finals since.
Montenegro
England fans will be familiar with Branko Branovic’s men after seeing their side fail to beat them in both meetings in qualifying Group G.
A water-tight defence proved to be the backbone of their success as Montenegro (125/1 Euro 2012 outright) conceded just seven goals in seven qualifying games.
However, they only scored seven too, meaning the pressure will be on the likes of Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Juventus’ Mirko Vucinic to score the goals required to see them through.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
The eastern European theme continues with Bosnia (80/1 Euro 2012 outright) looking to reach their first-ever major tournament.
They have gone agonisingly close on previous occasions, just one goal prevented them from nudging past Denmark to qualify for Euro 2004, before losing to Portugal 2-0 on aggregate in the play-offs for World Cup 2010.
You get the impression that it will not be too long before they go one better and make a major finals for the first time. They certainly shouldn’t be discounted here.
Estonia
When Estonia were drawn with Italy, Serbia and Slovenia in Euro 2012 qualifying Group C, few would have predicted their presence in Thursday’s play-off draw.
But while Tarmo Rüütli’s men were beating Northern Ireland 2-1 in their final qualifying match, Serbia were losing in Slovenia, meaning the small Baltic nation had reached their first ever qualification play-off. You get the impression they are just happy to be there, meaning they should not provide too much opposition for the seeded sides.
However, the pressure of expectation can do strange things, meaning Estonia (400-1 Euro 2012 outright) can play with a freedom knowing they have nothing to lose.
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