Republic of Ireland will look to take a positive step towards maintaining their UEFA Nations League - League B status in the first leg of the promotion/relegation play-off against Bulgaria in Plovdiv tomorrow night. 

Heimir Hallgrímsson's side take on current League C side Bulgaria over two legs this week, with the second leg on Sunday, March 23 at the Aviva Stadium, with kick-off at 7.45pm, and the winner is set for a spot in League B in the next addition of the competition. 

It is the first MNT international of the year as preparations begin for the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign which is set to begin in September against either Portugal or Denmark, Hungary and Armenia. 

Match Details

Fixture: Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland
Competition: UEFA Nations League - Promotion/Relegation play-off
Date: Thursday, March 20
Kick-off: 7.45pm (9.45pm local time)
Stadium: Hristo Botev Stadium, Plovdiv
TV: RTE

Match Officials

Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu (FRA)
Fourth Official: Eric Wattellier (FRA)
Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)

Team News

Republic of Ireland Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson has reported a clean bill of health for the first leg against Bulgaria as the entire squad trained on MD-1 at the Hristo Botev Stadium. 

Press Conference | Republic of Ireland Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson 

“My thoughts are, we need to play good opponents day in and day out to develop as a team, that's why group B is important for us, there are differing views on it and I respect that, but I think it's really important to stay in group B and play higher ranked opponents.

“As a group we like to stay in group B and compete with better teams.

“We have players who don’t have caps and we’d like to see them in action, we called in players we feel are ready to play, that’s why we bring them in, it’s also a time to give players a chance.

“There is a lot of match fitness in the team at this stage, better than in the past two or three camps. I am looking forward to seeing what we can deliver tomorrow.”

Press Conference | Republic of Ireland defender Nathan Collins

"It will be great for us to keep a clean sheet, but we will try to find a way to break through Bulgaria's defence and score. As the manager said, they've been really good defensively but we're going to have to break them down in our own way and the intention will be to get forward and score goals.

"It's a good game for us, we're ready to go again. Of course, (the result against England) hurt a lot, it wasn't a nice feeling. The dressing room after was tough and we all haven't really seen each other since then. 

"So, we want to bounce back from that and get that confidence back up."

WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE ON FAI TV HERE 

Match Facts - Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland

- Bulgaria are winless in their last seven games against the Republic of Ireland in all competitions (D5 L2), with both meetings between the nations in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League ending as draws.

- Republic of Ireland are winless in their five away visits to face Bulgaria (D2 L3). Each of the last two have ended as 1-1 draws, with Ireland defenders Richard Dunne scoring in June 2009 and Shane Duffy in September 2020.

- Bulgaria have drawn eight of their last 12 matches in all competitions (W3 D1), with three of their last eight games ending goalless.

- Republic of Ireland have lost six of their last eight away games (W2), losing their last two, both in the UEFA Nations League (0-2 vs Greece, 0-5 vs England).

- Across their last 32 games, Bulgaria have won just six times (D15 L11). Those six wins have come against nations ranked, at that time, in the FIFA World Rankings in 200th (Gibraltar), 64th (North Macedonia), 110th (Cyprus), 119th (Tanzania), 74th (Northern Ireland) and 89th (Luxembourg).

- Kiril Despodov created nine chances in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group stage, the most of any Bulgarian player. Despodov also registered the most xG of any Bulgaria player (1.9).

- 20-year-old Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson has made 18 appearances for the national side and could overtake Ian Harte into outright second place for games played before the age of 21. Only Robbie Keane (25) has played more times before turning 21.

Republic of Ireland Squad - UEFA Nations League

Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (Middlesbrough, on loan from AFC Bournemouth), Gavin Bazunu (Standard Liége, on loan from Southampton).

Defenders: Jake O'Brien (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Jimmy Dunne (Queens Park Rangers), James Abankwah (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Robbie Brady (Preston North End), Ryan Manning (Southampton). 

Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Mark Sykes (Bristol City), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Andrew Moran (Stoke City, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion).

Attackers: Evan Ferguson (West Ham United, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion), Adam Idah (Celtic), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Sinclair Armstrong (Bristol City), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Rocco Vata (Watford).

Fixtures - UEFA Nations League 

20/03 - Bulgaria v Ireland, Hristo Botev Stadium, Plovdiv, 7.45pm (Irish Time)
23/03 - Ireland v Bulgaria, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 7.45pm