Irish in third tier for Euro 2012 draw
Friday, 20 November 2009 13:13The Republic of Ireland will be in the third tier of seeds for the 2012 European Championship draw which takes place in Warsaw in February.
Ireland are ranked 25th among UEFA members. France are in the top tier along with reigning champions Spain.
There will be six pools of six and three pools of five when the draw is made.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side have fallen two places to 36 in the FIFA world rankings, while France have risen two places to seventh.
Spain top the rankings, displacing Brazil who drop to second.
England have dropped two places to ninth and Portugal are up five places to fifth following a play-off win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While the mechanism for seeding the World Cup draw on 4 December has yet to be confirmed, FIFA have said they will discount November's rankings as they have been distorted by the play-offs in Europe.
Four of the World Cup qualified teams do not feature among the top 50 - South Korea, North Korea, New Zealand and South Africa.
Northern Ireland have dropped nine places to 39, Scotland have held on to 46th place despite their recent tribulations and Wales are down one place to 79.
