Republic of Ireland’s performance in the Nations League will have a lasting impact on their Euro 2028 qualification campaign, so results are important.
Should they finish top of the group, they will earn promotion into League A.
Should they finish second they will have a play-off with a third-placed team from League A to try and win promotion.
More importantly, finishing first or second will also guarantee that the Republic of Ireland will be a pot two side when the draw for the Euro 2028 qualifiers is made in Belfast in December, which, in theory, could present them with a kinder draw.
Should they finish third, they will remain in League B, while if they finish bottom of the group they will have a play-off against a second-placed team from League C, which, if they lost they would then suffer relegation to the third tier of the Nations League.
A third or fourth-placed finish in their group would mean the Republic of Ireland would be placed in pot three for the Euro 2028 qualifiers and they may be paired with two European heavy hitters which could make their path to the tournament much tougher.
A good performance in the Nations League could also offer a route to qualification for the tournament if the Irish fail to qualify automatically.
The best performing teams in the Nations League that do not qualify for the Euros in the qualification campaign will enter play-offs to earn the final qualifying spots for the tournament.
As Hallgrimsson put it when talking through the scenarios: “Our seeding for the Euros depends on the Nations League”.
“League A will mean better opponents and would be better financially for FAI [Football Association of Ireland] and there is an escape route to the Euros from the Nations League, so lots of reasons we want to do really well in these Nations League matches,” he added.
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