Ireland’s next international football match is against Bulgaria in March 2025. Find out which of these two teams might prevail right here.
The UEFA Nations League competition is the biggest international football tournament in Europe, and it’s currently in full swing. The group stage, which introduced an all-new format, recently ended, and the competition is set to resume in 2025 with the relegation and promotion play-offs and knockout phase.
The Republic of Ireland’s next fixture is against Bulgaria on March 25, 2025. They also then play them again on March 23. The question being asked here is, which of these two footballing nations will prevail? Let’s dive straight in to find out.
Ireland vs Bulgaria – who will come out on top in March?
The quickest, easiest, and most reliable way to determine who will win when Ireland take on Bulgaria in March 2025 is to look at the latest sports betting odds for this particular fixture, which some of the iGaming industry’s most trusted operators are currently offering.
Despite losing 5-0 to England in their latest Nations League match against England and finishing third in their group (League B, Group 2), the Republic of Ireland are still in the competition, and they are the odds-on favourite to beat Bulgaria in their first leg match in March.
However, they are only the slight odds-on favourite, meaning that Bulgaria would be a great bet if you like to bet on the underdogs.
Here are the latest average ‘theoretical’ odds that you will most likely encounter when all of the top bookies release them for this particular fixture:
For the game to end in a draw (e.g., 0-0. 1-1, or 2-2), you will be looking at average odds of around 13/5 (which is 3.6 in decimal odds and +260 in American/moneyline odds), meaning there’s a 27.80% IPR of the result finishing all square after 90 minutes.
If you live in Ireland and are of legal age to place a wager on this upcoming fixture, remember to stick to the safe sites that reputable operators control.
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How have Ireland and Bulgaria fared so far in the Nations League?
The Republic of Ireland are currently ranked at number 60 on the official FIFA World Rankings (men’s), and Bulgaria are ranked at number 82. Both teams have had mixed results lately, but both have made it to the next phase of the tournament by not finishing rock bottom in their respective groups.
Let’s take a quick look at how both teams performed in the competition. On September 7, Ireland lost 2-0 at home to England in their opening game of the Nations League competition. Three days later, they lost 2-0 at home to Greece.
They got their first win on October 10 when they beat Finland 2-1 away, and then just three days later, they lost 2-0 away to Greece.
Their second important win, which was enough to ensure they remained in the competition, came on November 14, when they beat Finland 1-0 at home before losing their sixth and final group stage match 5-0 to England.
In Bulgaria’s opening Nations League match on September 5, they drew 0-0 away with Belarus. They won their second game 1-0 at home against Northern Ireland on September 8, and then drew 0-0 again with Luxembourg on October 12.
Their worst defeat occurred on October 15, when Northern Ireland beat them 5-0; the following month, on November 15, they beat Luxembourg 1-0 away. In their final Nations League group-stage match, they drew 1-1 at home with Belarus.
Final thoughts
Some of the UEFA Nations League matches played next March will see the teams that finished third in their respective leagues (League A) playing two-legged ties against teams who finished in second in League B.
It also sees teams that finished in third place in League B playing teams that finished in second place in League C (Bulgaria vs. Ireland). The winner of this two-legged tie will secure their spot in League B.
In other words, the League B/C play-offs, which will see Bulgaria play Ireland, also includes Armenia, Georgia, Slovenia, Kosovo or Romania, Slovakia, and Iceland. A total of four Nations League teams will also qualify for a play-off to reach the next World Cup, meaning everything is at stake for both nations.
However, seedings for the World Cup qualifying groups will not be determined by where teams finish in the Nations League but, instead, by FIFA.
Don’t forget to add March 20 and 23 to your diary if you want to watch Bulgaria and Ireland in action against each other in what are shaping up to be two of the most hotly anticipated fixtures of the tournament so far.
