The Republic of Ireland will be fourth seeds at next month’s draw for Euro 2016 in France.
Martin O’Neill’s side secured qualification for their second successive European Championship by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 on aggregate in their play-off tie.
However, despite the recent win over world champions Germany, Ireland will be ranked as one of the lowest of the 24 teams in the draw, which takes place in Paris on 12 December.
On their two previous appearances at the tournament Ireland were drawn with both of the eventual finalists, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union in 1988, and Spain and Italy in 2012.
They will join Northern Ireland and Wales in Pot 4 meaning they cannot play each other in the group stage. The other teams in that pot will be first-timers Iceland and Albania, and either Turkey or Slovenia.
Pot 1 will feature hosts France, defending champions Spain and world champions Germany, as well as England, Belgium and Portugal.
Italy would seem the team to avoid in Pot 2, which will also contains Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine or the Czech Republic.
Pot 3 will feature Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden or Denmark, and Turkey or the Czech Republic.
The expanded 24-team tournament means there is a last-16 round for the first time in the competition’s history, which will see four of the third-placed teams qualify from the group stage along with the winners and runners-up.
Venues
The tournament kicks off on Friday 10 June, with France playing in the opening game at the Stade de France, which will also host the final on Sunday 10 July.
Nine other venues are being used around the country from the Parc des Princes (Paris), Lille and Lens in the north, to Saint Etienne, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille and Nice in the southern half of the country.
Tickets
Many of the tickets have been snapped up as fans bought tickets for specific venues in the hope their country would be drawn to play there.
There is also the opportunity for fans to resell their tickets if their team is playing at another venue, so more may become available at a later date.
The prices for the group stages start at €25 and go up to €145, with tickets for the final costing between €85 and €895.
Organisers have insisted that the tournament will go ahead in France, despite the horrific attacks in Paris on Friday night.
Extra security measures will be in place at all grounds and areas where large numbers of people will gather, such as fan zones and transport hubs.
Prize money
UEFA's executive committee meets on 11 December before the draw to decide on the prize money to be awarded to the competing nations, but it is expected to be significantly higher than the €8m the FAI received in 2012.
The cash-strapped association is set for an overall windfall of up to €20m when advertising deals and other revenue streams are taken into account.
Finally, any fans looking to buy some souvenirs from their trip will have plenty of options, with the usual array of merchandise on offer, including the official adidas ball, the Beau Jeu, which translates as 'Beautiful Game'.
It was spotted on sale in one German store over the weekend for €134. At that price, you wouldn’t want to lose it under the wheel of a car or in someone's back garden.
