The Republic of Ireland are in Nations League play-off action on Thursday night, taking on Bulgaria in Plovdiv for the first leg of their tie in a bid to avoid relegation from League B.
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The Republic of Ireland return to competitive fixtures for the first time in 2025 looking in a two-legged promotion/relegation Nations League play-off against Bulgaria.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side finished third in their Nations League campaign earlier in the season behind England and Greece and ahead of Finland, booking them a place in the promotion/relegation play-offs against one of the second placed teams from League C.
The Icelandic has lost four of his six games in charge of the Boys In Green since taking over last summer, meaning they’ve lost five of their last seven in total, only managing two victories over Finland since leaving Jamaica for his new home in the Emerald Isle.
The Irish side have spent all four of their Nations League campaigns in the second tier of the competition, and will be looking to extend that record following Thursday’s first leg in Plovdiv and Sunday’s second leg in Dublin.
Bulgaria finished second in their Nations League C3 group despite losing only one of their six matches in the latter half of last year, finishing behind the automatically promoted Northern Ireland and ahead of Belarus and Luxembourg.
The Lions prepare for the visit of the Republic of Ireland having lost only one of their last 12 matches in all competitions and are unbeaten at home since October 2023, leaving them without defeat at home since Ilian Iliev took over the side the following month.
Despite their impressive unbeaten run, Bulgaria have found wins hard to come by, with eight of those 12 matches ending in draws, ahead of their this week’s play-off as they seek promotion back into League B after two campaigns in the third tier.
Iliev, who has been managing Bulgarian top flight side Cherno More in tandem with his national team’s duties, represented his country as a player on 34 occasions including in the 1998 World Cup in a career which included a couple of years playing for Benfica.
Each of the last four competitive meetings between the two sides have ended in stalemates, with their most recent match ups coming in the Nations League in late 2020, drawing 1-1 in Sofia before playing out a goalless game in Dublin.
How to watch Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland
- Location: Stadion Hristo Botev, Plovdiv
- Date and time: Thursday 20th March 2025, 7:45pm
- How to watch: TBC
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