Ireland face Argentina in World Cup quarter-final preview

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 6 Nov, 08:30 · Archive

Ireland play Argentina in the Nations Championship on Friday, a potential preview of a 2027 World Cup quarter-final.

Ireland play Argentina in the Nations Championship Northern Series at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night. The match comes less than 11 months before the 2027 World Cup in Australia, where the sides could potentially meet in the quarter-final stage in Brisbane on Halloween night.

Argentina have a troubling record against Ireland at World Cups. The sides have met three times in the tournament, and Argentina have won all three meetings, each time eliminating Ireland from the competition. Despite this, Ireland have won 14 of the 20 meetings between the nations overall. However, Argentina have never beaten Ireland in Dublin.

Head coach Andy Farrell acknowledged on Wednesday when announcing his team that Ireland are not presently 'good enough to board the plane believing that 100%' they are ready to lift the Webb Ellis trophy for the first time. He added that he is excited by the work still to do before next year's tournament. A year before the 2015, 2019 and 2023 World Cups, Ireland had enjoyed strong seasons and anticipated the tournaments with confidence, but 2026 has not followed that pattern so far.

How it is being reported

• Ireland's home straight to World Cup starts with PumasLess than a year away from a potential 2027 World Cup quarter final meeting, Ireland's hosting of Argentina represents an important staging post on the journey to Australia next autumn.BBC Sport · 6 Nov, 08:02
• Ireland vs Argentina offers tantalising World Cup preview to kick off huge autumnThe Nations Championship returns with a fascinating fixture in Dublin this evening, in what might just be a dry run for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final this time next yearIndependent Sport · 6 Nov, 07:12

In this story: Ireland · Argentina · Andy Farrell · Brisbane · Dublin · Australia

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log