Heimir Hallgrímsson reveals urgent World Cup message he delivered to Ireland players this week

Ireland are in Nations League action against Greece on Sunday night.

Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson is focused on Sunday night’s clash against Greece in Piraeus - but he also has one eye on next year’s World Cup qualification campaign.

So much so that the first message he delivered to players as they came into camp for this month’s double-header was about the importance of these fixtures to Ireland’s hopes of smoothing their path to the 2026 finals.

The outcome of this year’s Nations League tournament will determine seedings for the 12 groups of four or five teams that will make up the first round of qualification.

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The second round, the play-off stage, will feature the 12 runners up and the four best Nations League teams that didn’t make the top-two in their World Cup group.

It’s going to be a tricky tournament to get to, but Ireland could yet be among the second seeds, depending on the outcomes of the final three rounds of Nations League fixtures.

That’s why Thursday’s win over Finland was so important - as is the second-half of this month’s double header in Greece.

Hallgrímsson said: “It was one of the first things we spoke about in this camp, looking forward, trying to see what is the future, the draw, games next season and what it takes for us to qualify for the World Cup, which is the big goal of course.

“Doing a good finish in the Nations League is an important step, but it’s not about where we finish here, it’s about growing.

“We could have a perfect game tomorrow and still lose to a team like Greece. You need to be realistic.

“If we continue to build on what we are doing well, doing less mistakes, you always have more chance of winning.

“It’s a by-product. We need to keep on thinking about what we are trying to improve.”

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