Ireland will kick-start their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign with a trip to Serbia in March, followed by a home clash with Luxembourg three days later.
And in a fresh development, FIFA has confirmed that Qatar have been added to Group A to help fine tune the World Cup hosts ahead of the tournament.
But although Qatar will play each of the five Group A teams twice, all 10 of those games are friendlies with no points at stake.
Ireland finish the March triple header by hosting Qatar at Aviva Stadium and are away to them in October at a neutral European venue that has yet to be confirmed.
In early September, Stephen Kenny’s charges will open the key triple header away to Portugal before hosting both Azerbaijan and Serbia in quick succession.
The long trek to Baku then awaits in early October when Ireland face Azerbaijan for the first time in their history.
And the campaign draws to a close in November with Ronaldo’s star-studded Portugal at the Aviva followed by a trip to Luxembourg three days later.
IRELAND'S WORLD CUP FIXTURES
March 24 - Serbia (A)
March 27 - Luxembourg (H)
March 30 - Qatar (H) (friendly)
Sept 1 - Portugal (A)
Sept 4 - Azerbaijan (H)
Sept 7 - Serbia (H)
Oct 9 - Azerbaijan (A)
Oct 12 - Qatar (A) (friendly, in Europe tbc)
Nov 11 - Portugal (H)
Nov 14 - Luxembourg (A)
