Republic of Ireland to start Nations League campaign against England in Dublin

The Republic of Ireland and England will kick-off the next edition of the Nations League against each other in their first competitive meeting since 1991.

The sides were drawn together in Paris on Thursday and UEFA has confirmed they will open Group B2 in Dublin on September 7th.

England will host the return fixture on matchday six on November 17th, with the pool completed by Finland and Greece.

These will be the first competitive fixtures between the Republic and England since a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley. They have met in four friendlies since then, most recently in November 2020 at Wembley.

This will be England’s first taste of the Nations League’s second tier, having gone from winning bronze in 2019 at the inaugural edition to relegation in the most recent campaign.

Northern Ireland also start their campaign with a home fixture. Luxembourg are the visitors on September 5th, with Bulgaria and Belarus completing Group C3.

Their away game against Belarus, scheduled for October 12th, is set to be played at a neutral venue.

UEFA, in its Nations League draw press kit, said: “Based on decisions by the UEFA executive committee, Belarus and Ukraine organise their respective home matches on neutral ground until further notice.”