1980 Euro Championship - Irish Qualifying Campaign

The 1980 Euro Championship saw the expansion of the finals stage from four teams to eight. The winner of each of the two groups of four reached the Euro 1980 final.

In the qualifying stages Ireland were drawn against the old enemy England, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Denmark. This was to be Johnny Giles' last campaign as Republic of Ireland soccer manager following a poor qualification campaign. Ultimately England ran away with the group only dropping one point along the way and that was in a 1-1 draw with Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

Ireland's first match in the group was a thrilling 3-3 draw with the Danes in Copenhagen. This was followed by the historic meeting of the two Irish international soccer teams. In a tense affair the teams played out a sterile 0-0 draw in Belfast. Then came the draw with the English which was followed by a Lansdowne Road (now Aviva Stadium) victory over Denmark.

A further home 3-0 victory over Bulgaria was not enough for Ireland as the team lost three out of four of it's last football matches in Group 1 of the 1980 Euro qualifiers.

Euro Championship 1980 Qualifying Campaign - Group Table

1980 European Football Championship - Qualifying Group 1
Nation	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Goals F	Goals A	Points
England	8	7	1	0	22	5	15
Northern Ireland	8	4	1	3	8	14	9
Ireland	8	2	3	3	9	8	7
Bulgaria	8	2	1	5	6	14	5
Denmark	8	1	2	5	13	17	4

Republic of Ireland Euro Championship 1980 Qualifiers - Match Results

Number of Appearances and Goals Scored in Irish World Cup Qualifying Campaigns

Irish European Championship Qualifying Group Results

Number of Appearances and Goals Scored in Irish Euro Championship Finals Qualifying Campaigns

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