Voice of London

The draw for the UEFA European Championship has pitted Northern Ireland against Bosnia- Herzegovina and the Republic of Ireland away to Slovakia. Both ties have been drawn in ‘Path B’, meaning should they both win, they will face each other for a place at next summer’s tournament.

Both sides will be looking to secure their second successive Euro appearances. Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland have played each other three times in 20 years, with only one of those games coming competitively. Republic of Ireland have not won in this fixture since 1994 Scotland, meanwhile, will face Israel at Hampden Park. Should the Scots win their semi-final, they will face the winners of Norway vs Serbia. The Scots have not qualified for a major tournament since 1998.

The Scots qualified for the playoffs by beating Kazakhstan 3-1 at Hampden, ensuring a third-place finish in Group I. Despite a tumultuous start to their qualifying campaign, replacing Alex McLeish with Steve Clarke as manager proved to be the turning point.

Elsewhere, Euro 2016 surprise package Iceland will look to reach their third consecutive tournament by beating Romania, whilst the impressive Kosovo will look to continue their emotional football journey by beating North Macedonia in Path D.

DRAW IN FULL:

Path D
Semi Final 1: Georgia v Belarus
Semi-Final 2: North Macedonia v Kosovo

Path C
Semi-Final 1: Scotland v Israel
Semi-Final 2: Norway v Serbia

Path B
Semi-Final 1: Slovakia v Republic of Ireland
Semi Final 2: Bosnia & Herzegovina v Northern Ireland

Path A
Iceland v Romania
Bulgaria v Hungry

Words by: Micah Chudleigh

Image: https://www.eans.org/page/about