The Republic of Ireland's Euro 2028 hopes have been boosted after UEFA confirmed places at the tournament will be reserved for the two best-ranked host nations who don't automatically qualify.
It means if two of England, Wales and Scotland reach the finals, then the Boys in Green are guaranteed to be there, regardless of how they fare in qualification.
England and Scotland qualified for the two most recent European Championships, England finishing as runners-up at both Euro 2024 and Euro 2020. Wales qualified in 2020 and 2016, the Republic of Ireland's most recent major tournament appearance.
Casement Park's removal as a host stadium last September means Northern Ireland are not eligible to get a back-door route into the tournament.
The UEFA Executive Committee met on Wednesday in Bilbao ahead of the Europa League final to sign off on the decision.
Euro 2028 will be held across nine venues in the UK and Ireland (Aviva Stadium) with 24 participating teams.
Twelve qualifying groups will be formed of four or five teams. The 12 group winners and eight best runners-up go straight to the finals, with two spots reserved for the host nations who don't qualify and two more places up for grabs through eight-team play-offs, though the number of teams involved would increase to 12 if all four of the host nations qualify automatically.
The play-offs will be contested between the remaining runners-up in the qualifying groups and the best ranked 2026-27 UEFA Nations League non-qualified group winners.
The tournament schedule is expected to be released in the autumn.
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