Heimir Hallgrimsson Says Ireland Must Improve to Qualify for 2026 World Cup

Irish manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has said that Ireland must improve if they want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Ireland finished third in their qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup, behind Portugal and Serbia. They won just two of their eight matches, scoring six goals and conceding 18.

"We need to be more clinical in front of goal," Hallgrimsson said. "We had chances in every game, but we didn't take them. We also need to be more solid defensively. We conceded too many goals in the qualifiers."

Ireland will be in Pot 3 for the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifying groups. They will be hoping to avoid being drawn in a group with one of the top seeds, such as Brazil, Argentina, or France.

"The draw will be important," Hallgrimsson said. "We need to avoid being drawn in a group with one of the top seeds. But even if we are drawn in a difficult group, we need to believe that we can qualify."

Ireland will have two years to prepare for the 2026 World Cup. Hallgrimsson will be hoping to use that time to improve the team and make them competitive in the qualifiers.

"We have a lot of talented players," Hallgrimsson said. "We just need to find a way to get the best out of them. I believe that we can qualify for the World Cup, but we need to work hard and improve."

Ireland will play their first match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in September 2023.