The Republic of Ireland Men’s National Team face Bulgaria in their UEFA Nations League B/C relegation/promotion play-off this week, a clash between two nations that have very much fallen into relative footballing obscurity compared to years and previous international tournaments gone by.
30 years ago, both sides sat comfortably within the Top 10 of the FIFA International World Football Rankings. Ireland’s back-to-back World Cup qualifications in 1990 and 1994 lifted them to an all-time high of 6th in the world, while Bulgaria’s 4th place finish at World Cup 1994 saw them rise to 8th and their highest ever position on the international football scale.
This was a golden age of football for both nations. Ireland were flying high under Jack Charlton – beating England in Stuttgart at Euro ‘88, Packie Bonner’s penalty shootout heroics at Italia ‘90 and that famous Ray Houghton-inspired victory over eventual runners-up Italy at USA ‘94.
Bulgaria themselves were also very much enjoying their golden era of elite football talent, beating the likes of Argentina, Mexico and Germany to reach the World Cup Semi-Final in 1994 in a tournament inspired by the likes of Krasimir Balakov, Yordan Lechkov and soon-to-be Ballon d’Or winner Hristo Stoichkov.
What has transpired since is a sustained and similar period of decline for both nations; Ireland have only qualified for one World Cup finals since 1994, in what has since become that infamous Saipan incident of 2002. Bulgaria have failed to reach every World Cup tournament since their last bout in 1998 when they failed to win a single game and finished bottom of their group in France.
Fast-forward to present day and Ireland currently lie 60th in FIFA’s World Ranking table, with opponents Bulgaria trailing behind in 82nd – both shadows of their former selves and still very much living on past glories in terms of their international football success.
What’s at stake?
The UEFA Nations League was first introduced in 2018 as a means for international sides to play more regular competitive football, replacing the existing FIFA international friendly calendar and serving as one of the primary means by which nations are seeded for World Cup qualification groups. Ireland have sat in Nations League B since the competition began back in 2018, meaning they are placed in a higher pot than nations in Nations League C or D for World Cup qualification.
Despite losing twice to both England and Greece in their 24/25 Nations League group, back-to-back victories over Finland meant the Scandinavians were automatically relegated to Nations League C, with Ireland finishing third to take up a spot in the Nations League B/C relegation/promotion playoff.
Bulgaria, who finished second in Nations League Group C3 behind promoted Northern Ireland, now face Ireland in a two-legged playoff with the winner taking a spot in Nations League B next season. While relegation would indeed be an embarrassing achievement for the Boys in Green, remaining in League B has become all the more important with the expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 nations. Avoiding defeat at the hands of the Bulgarians gives Heimir Halgrimsson’s side their best chance at World Cup qualification for more than a decade, and hopefully not even not even a scrupulous handball can stand in our way as we battle for a place at World Cup 2026 in USA, Canada and Mexico.
Ireland travel to Bulgaria on Thursday 20th March 2025, with the return leg in Dublin taking place at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday 23rd March. Both games kick off at 19.45 Irish time.