N Ireland and Republic Euro 2021 play-off semi-finals set for October

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Steven Davis and Seamus Coleman
Image caption,

NI captain Steven Davis and Republic of Ireland counterpart Seamus Coleman

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play their Euro 2021 play-off semi-finals on 8 October, with the final to take place on 12 November.

The ties were initially scheduled for March, then moved forward to June, but had to be further delayed because of the coronavirus health pandemic.

Northern Ireland are away to Bosnia-Herzegovina in their semi-final, with the Republic away to Slovakia.

The two sides will meet in the final in Belfast should they win their ties.

The matches will take place at the start of the October and November international windows, with three games played rather than just the two 2021 Nations League contests previously scheduled.

The announcement of the revised play-off dates means previously scheduled Nations League matches have been moved.

Northern Ireland's home Nations League game against Austria will now be played on Sunday 11 October, while the away fixture in Norway will be played on Wednesday 14 October.

Their Nations League games are now scheduled for Sunday 15 November against Austria away while the final fixture of the campaign is a home fixture against Romania on Wednesday 18 November.

Both sides will begin their Nations League campaigns in September as scheduled, those being the first games in charge for new Republic manager Stephen Kenny and whoever succeeds Michael O'Neill as Northern Ireland boss.

Stoke City manager O'Neill had been set to take charge of NI's Euro play-off campaign but stepped down in April after confirmation that the ties would not be contested until the autumn.

NI play Romania away on 4 September, then host Norway at Windsor Park three days later.

The Republic of Ireland will kick off their Nations League campaign with a trip to Bulgaria on 3 September, before hosting Finland on 6 September.

The Irish FA has indicated it hopes to have a new manager in place by mid-August, while Kenny took over the reins from Mick McCarthy at the start of April.

Uefa has delayed Euro 2020 by a year due to the coronavirus, with the tournament now taking place from 11 June to 11 July 2021.

The 12 original host cities have been confirmed as venues and the updated match schedule approved.

Should either Northern Ireland or the Republic progress, they would join Spain, Poland and Sweden in a section played in Dublin and Bilbao.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Windsor Park in Belfast will host the 2021 European Super Cup, as originally scheduled.

Uefa's Under-19 football tournament will also still be played in Northern Ireland, but split over two periods.

A group stage featuring two groups of four teams will be held between 8 and 14 October, with final matches played between 9 and 18 November.

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