MARK LAWRENSON believes Ireland are “the best they have been in quite a while” and have a chance of getting to the 2026 World Cup.
The Boys in Green preserved their place in League B of the UEFA Nations League with a relegation play-off win over Bulgaria.
Mark Lawrenson believes Ireland have a chance to qualify for the World Cup[/caption]
The 2-1 wins home and away was the first time they have recorded back-to-back wins since 2023.
Heimir Hallgrimsson has four wins from his eight games in charge, and former Ireland international Lawrenson believes they are on the right track.
Speaking to Paddy Power, he said: “It’s been so far, so good for Heimir Hallgrímsson at Ireland.
“Suddenly, there are a few really good players in the Ireland squad, and it’s been a long time since we’ve looked at them and thought that they are a good team.
“This is the best they’ve been in quite a while.”
Ireland face Senegal and Luxembourg in a pair of friendlies in June before turning their attentions to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
They have been drawn to face Hungary, Armenia, and Portugal – the latter having beaten Denmark in the Nations League to take the final spot.
The Boys in Green have not been to a World Cup since 2002, nor a major competition since Euro 2016.
And Lawrenson believes the current crop have a chance at making a stab at going to the USA.
He added: “Hallgrímsson should be left to get on with it, but his most important thing will be to keep his best players fit.
“If they all stay fit, they have a chance to qualify for the World Cup in 2026.”
Ireland may have beaten Bulgaria twice, but fell behind in the first-half of both legs.
In Plovdiv, Marin Petkov opened the scoring inside six minutes before Matt Doherty and Finn Azaz flipped the script before half-time.
And in Dublin, they fell behind to Valentin Antov, before second-half goals from Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah sealed the 2-1 win.
And assistant manager John O’Shea admitted Ireland will have to build more resilience if they are to qualify for the World Cup.
The No 2 said: “We will have to see out more games, with a few 1-0s, I would imagine, if you’re looking to top the group.
“First and foremost you have to deal with what’s next, we won’t look too far ahead, we’ve the games in the summer to look forward to.
“We’re aware now that it’s Portugal in the group with Armenia and Hungary, so obviously we are able to do a bit more preparation and a bit of the groundwork in terms of what we will have to do to beat them.
“There are lots of good signs but lots of hard work as well . . . to see that resilience, to get that 1-0 win whether it is away or at home against a top-tier nation that we have done in the past and will have to do again if we want to qualify for tournaments.”
