THE Republic of Ireland will face Bulgaria in a Nations League B/C, relegation/promotion play-off next March.
The Republic finished third in their group in League B while Bulgaria finished second behind Northern Ireland in League C. The nations will play home and away to decide on their status for next season. The Republic have never played in the third tier previously.
“I think Bulgaria is an okay draw,” said manager Heimer Hallgrimmson.
“It’s not my favourite, it’s not the worst.
“Slovakia was the highest Fifa-ranked team and everyone would like to avoid them. Yeah, it’s probably going to be an equal game like most of these set-ups.
“They were in a group with Northern Ireland and if I remember correctly they lost 5-1 (5-0) in Belfast but that is kind of an outlier in all the results.
“They had four clean sheets in that group and somebody had told me Ireland had them in the group in 2020 and it was two draws. You would expect a low scoring game when you look at the goals and statistics.
“Some say it’s even better to be in Group C to have more chances of winning games.
“My opinion is that you should always play the stronger team and try to improve that way. That’s my opinion and I think it’s important that if we want to try to qualify for finals it’s always better to play better teams than not.”
Hallgrimmson’s Republic side competed well with England at Wembley last Sunday but after Harry Kane’s 53rd minute penalty and the sending-off of Liam Scales they lost their way and, in the end, suffered a chastening 5-0 defeat.
“Hopefully time will heal these wounds,” said the Icelander.
“Now, it’s a little bit of a quieter time for me and a good time to look back and reflect and just gather every key note that I’ve put in my diary and go through it and gather my thoughts. It’s a little bit of both.”
Hallgrimmson hopes that everyone in his squad will be playing regular first-team football by the time the play-offs arrive next year.
“All players like to play and if they are not getting minutes, they will try with their agents to get playing time somewhere else,” he said.
“Of course as a national team coach, you want your players to be playing regularly and at the highest level possible.”
